Cadzow Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Hamilton, worked from at least 1894 by the Cadzow Coal Co., Ltd and later the Bent Colliery Co., Ltd, part of a cluster of Hamilton-area pits closed together during a 1919 industrial dispute -- and the site of a 1929 gas incident that killed three men.

History

Cadzow Colliery, taking its name from Cadzow, the historic name for Hamilton itself, was working by 1894 under the Cadzow Coal Co., Ltd, producing gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal from the Blackband, Kiltongue, Lower Ell, Pyotshaw and Splint seams among others. Recorded employment peaked at 850 in 1933, split between roughly 650 men underground and 200 on the surface. On 10 October 1929, a fireman and two miners were overcome by gas and died after going in, one after another, to examine a place where a shot had just been fired (see Disasters, below). In September 1919 Cadzow's neighbouring collieries -- Bent, Greenfield, Earnock, Neilsland, Hamilton Palace and all the Larkhall pits -- closed together amid industrial dispute, throwing some 10,000 men out of work across the district. The colliery passed to the Bent Colliery Co., Ltd, which reopened and continued working it from 1930. Mining beneath Hamilton itself created a lasting practical legacy: coal reserves running hundreds of feet below Hamilton Academy were deliberately purchased from the Bent Coal Company and left entirely unworked, specifically to leave solid ground beneath the school and prevent subsidence damage to its buildings.

Workings

Worked the Blackband, Kiltongue, Lower Ell, Pyotshaw, Splint, Humph and Virtuewell seams at various dates, with recorded employment peaking at 850 in 1933.

Closure

Reopened under the Bent Colliery Co., Ltd from 1930; a precise final closure date has not yet been established.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Cadzow Colliery Gas Incident, 1929
  10 October 1929 · Gas / Asphyxiation · 3 fatalities
  A fireman and two miners were overcome and killed by gas at Cadzow Colliery, Hamilton, after going in to examine a place where a shot had just been fired on 10 October 1929.

Recorded claims

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

• Cadzow Colliery was working by 1894 under the Cadzow Coal Co., Ltd, producing coal from seams including the Blackband, Kiltongue, Lower Ell, Pyotshaw and Splint, with recorded employment peaking at 850 in 1933. ¹
• In September 1919 Cadzow's neighbouring collieries -- Bent, Greenfield, Earnock, Neilsland, Hamilton Palace and all the Larkhall collieries -- closed together amid industrial dispute, putting around 10,000 men out of work across the district. ²
• Coal reserves running hundreds of feet beneath Hamilton Academy were purchased outright from the Bent Coal Company and left unworked, specifically to protect the school's buildings from subsidence. ²
• On 10 October 1929, a fireman and two miners were overcome by gas and died after going in, one after another, to examine a place where a shot had just been fired; full detail is covered on the disaster's own record. ^1,3

Sources

1. (secondary) Cadzow Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Cadzow Colliery — RootsChat — RootsChat forum
3. (primary) Fatal Accidents In Scottish Mines & Collieries 1929 — Scottish Mining Website (reproducing Inspector of Mines findings)

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 30 August 2026