Coalburn Colliery, New Cumnock

Overview

A small house-coal working at Coalburn in New Cumnock parish, Ayrshire, on the Marquis of Bute's land, first worked from the 1850s under the Cumnock Pottery's lease and later by William Nicol. Reopened as a surface mine in 1924, it grew to over a hundred men in the 1950s and closed in February 1962.

History

Coalburn lies in the parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, on lands that belonged to the Marquis of Bute. Coal working there is dated from 1854, and on 30 September 1856 John Kennedy was killed when a back weight fell on him in a sinking shaft. In the 1860s the lease of the minerals was held by John McGavin Nichol, who managed the Marquis's Cumnock Pottery; the Lists of Mines record the Cumnock Pottery Company as the owner. On 24 August 1867 a fourteen-year-old drawer, James Polland, who lived with his uncle's family at Coalburn, was killed by a fall of shale from the roof.

It stayed small for decades: ten people in 1894, eight to fifteen until 1915, about twenty between the wars, working the House and Splint coals for household and manufacturing use. William Nicol, and later William Nicol Ltd, worked it, and the present mine, a surface mine driven to about 37 metres, dates from 1924.

In 1948 the National Coal Board's Coalburn had 35 employees, one screen for dry coal and no washer, baths or canteen, and raised 16,288 tons a year. It grew in the 1950s, to a peak of 109 men in 1952, still working the House coal. The House coal workings were abandoned in 1962, and the mine closed in February that year.

Geology

Ayrshire Coalfield: the House and Splint coals.

Workings

Early shafts (a sinking shaft in 1856); from 1924 a surface mine to about 37 m; one screen and no washer in 1948.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in February 1962; the House coal plan is dated 1962.

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.

• Coalburn, New Cumnock, is dated from 1854 to February 1962. ¹
• In the 1860s John McGavin Nichol, who managed the Marquis of Bute's Cumnock Pottery, held the lease of the minerals at Coalburn. ^2,3
• On 24 August 1867 James Polland, a 14-year-old drawer, was killed at Coalburn pit by a fall of shale from the roof. ³
• On 30 September 1856 John Kennedy was killed when a back weight fell on him in a sinking shaft. ²
• The surface mine at Coalburn, driven to about 37 m, dates from 1924 and was owned by William Nicol Ltd. ^2,4
• In 1948 Coalburn had 35 employees and raised 16,288 tons a year. ⁴
• The workforce peaked at 109 in 1952. ^2,4
• The House coal workings at Coalburn were abandoned in 1962. ^4,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Coalburn Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1867-Aug-24: Coalburn Pit — New Cumnock History
4. (secondary) Coalburn (NRHE 130644) — Historic Environment Scotland (trove.scot, formerly Canmore)
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Coalburn, House, abandoned 1962 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026