Calderbank Colliery

Location	Calderpark, Baillieston, east of Glasgow, on the west bank of the North Calder Water, Glasgow — 55.8394, -4.1064 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	By 1874–After 1929
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	United Collieries Limited (1905–1929)

Overview

A colliery on the Calderpark estate at Baillieston, east of Glasgow, between the Baillieston road and the North Calder Water, with two pits and an air pit by 1874, worked by United Collieries in the 1900s-1920s. Its subsidence brought down Calderpark House in 1931; the site became Glasgow's Calderpark Zoo and is now housing. Not to be confused with Calderbank near Airdrie.

An open, recently cleared field under a grey sky with trees in the distance. — A field near Baillieston looking towards the site of Calderbank Colliery's railway sidings, with Ellismuir beyond. Photograph by Robert Murray. Robert Murray, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

History

Calderbank Colliery lay on the Calderpark estate at Baillieston, on the west bank of the North Calder Water. Two coal pits and an air pit are marked there on the Geological Survey map of 1874; No. 1 pit appears on the survey of 1909, and Nos. 1 and 2 on the Ordnance Survey of 1938, between the Baillieston road and the river. James McNair, the Glasgow sugar merchant who built Calderpark House in 1815, probably planted some of its trees partly to hide the colliery.

In 1898 a brusher was killed by a fall of stones. United Collieries Ltd worked the colliery from at least 1905: a sandstone roof burst suddenly over three men in No. 2 pit in 1912, and in 1914 a fall from an unseen glazy parting, never before met in the seam, buried three men who had just charged a shot hole, killing one. The Splint and Virgin coal was abandoned in 1927, and joint plans with Bredisholm and Ellismuir in 1931-33.

Mining subsidence brought down Calderpark House in 1931 and left Webster's Pond. In 1939 the estate was bought by the Zoological Society of Glasgow and West of Scotland, which opened Calderpark Zoo on the colliery site in 1947; the zoo closed in 2003 and the site has been built over with housing.

Geology

The Splint and Virgin, Upper Ell and Pyotshaw coals under a roof of hard fakes and strong sandstone with occasional glazy partings.

Workings

Pits Nos. 1 and 2 and an air pit beside the North Calder Water.

Closure

Unknown. Recorded deaths at the colliery run to 1929; its Splint and Virgin workings were abandoned in 1927 and joint Bredisholm, Ellismuir and Calderbank workings in 1931-33.

What remains

The colliery site became Calderpark Zoo (1947-2003) and is now a housing development; Webster's Pond formed through mining subsidence.

Webster's Pond, a subsidence pond.

Redevelopment

Calderpark Zoo, 1947-2003; housing since.

Related mines

Bredisholm Colliery — Joint abandonment plans of 1931-33 cover Bredisholm, Ellismuir and Calderbank workings in the same seams under United Collieries.

Nearby mines

Daldowie Colliery — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) W
Blantyreferme Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.0 km) S, South Lanarkshire
Newton Colliery, Cambuslang — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) S, South Lanarkshire
Kirkwood Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.8 km) E, North Lanarkshire
Kenmuirhill Colliery — 1.8 miles (2.9 km) W

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

Two coal pits and an air pit were marked at Calderbank Colliery on the Geological Survey map of 1874. ¹
United Collieries Ltd owned Calderbank Colliery, Baillieston, in 1905-1929. ^2,3
In 1914 a roof fall from an unseen glazy parting buried three men at a charged shot hole, killing one. ²
A brusher was killed by a fall of stones from the roof in Calderbank Colliery, Baillieston, in 1898. ⁴
The colliery site was reused for Calderpark Zoo, which closed in 2003. ¹
Calderpark House was demolished in 1931 because of mining subsidence. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Scottish Cave and Mine Database: Calderbank Colliery (reference)

The colliery's pits, maps, the Calderpark estate and the zoo.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Scottish Cave and Mine Database: Calderbank Colliery (Pits no. 1 & 2) [Calderpark] — Grampian Speleological Group: Scottish Cave and Mine Database
(primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Calderbank, 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Calderbank, No.1, 1905 — Northern Mine Research Society
(secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Accidents 1855-1870 to 1880, Lanarkshire (Coatbridge) — Scottish Mining Website
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Bredisholm, Ellismuir and Calderbank, Splint and Virgin, abandoned 1933 — British Geological Survey
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Calderbank, Splint and Virgin, abandoned 1927 — British Geological Survey
(primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Calderbank, No.2, 1912 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 15 October 2026 · Last researched: 15 October 2026