Braidhurst Colliery

Overview

The Summerlee ironmasters' colliery at Braidhurst, Motherwell, worked from at least 1891 to 1942 in the Splint, Ell, Pyotshaw, Main and Virtuewell coals, with a No. 2 pit and an emergency shaft. Its record is one of single deaths: a pony driver in 1900, a Polish miner in 1916, a shaftsman in 1931.

History

Braidhurst Colliery lay at Braidhurst, Motherwell, and belonged to the Summerlee and Mossend Iron and Steel Co., later the Summerlee Iron Co. Its Splint workings appear on a plan abandoned in 1891. In July 1900 a pony driver of 17 was killed by a stone from the roof while the fireman was clearing a fall on a haulage road in the splint coal of No. 2 pit.

In 1916 a Polish miner, Matteus Orlancavitch, whose widow lived in Poland, was killed by a fall of coal at the face. In 1928 a repairer was killed by a two-ton stone in the Virtuewell seam, and in 1931 a shaftsman fell while examining the emergency shaft.

The colliery's Splint, Ell, Pyotshaw, Main and Virtuewell workings were abandoned in 1942.

Geology

The Splint, Ell, Pyotshaw, Main and Virtuewell coals of the Motherwell district, with a roof given to falls.

Workings

No. 2 pit and an emergency shaft, with haulage roads in the splint coal.

Closure

All its seams were abandoned in 1942.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• No. 2 pit, Braidhurst Colliery, belonged to the Summerlee and Mossend Iron and Steel Company in 1900. ^1,2
• In 1931 the colliery belonged to the Summerlee Iron Co. Ltd and had an emergency shaft. ³
• A Polish miner was killed in Braidhurst pit by a fall of coal in 1916. ⁴
• A repairer was killed by a fall of stone in the Virtuewell seam in 1928. ⁵
• The Virtuewell workings were abandoned in 1942. ⁶
• Braidhurst's Splint workings appear on a plan abandoned in 1891. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Accidents 1891-1900 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Braidhurst, No.2 Pit, 1900 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Braidhurst, 1931 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Accidents 1915-1925 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
5. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Braidhurst, No.2 Pit, 1928 — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Braidhurst, Virtuewell, abandoned 1942 — British Geological Survey
7. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Braidhurst, Splint, abandoned 1891 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026