Coursington Colliery

Overview

A Motherwell colliery worked by the Wishaw Coal Company, whose Nos. 2 and 3 pits stood on a branch of the Wishaw Estate Railway near the Dalzell steelworks, with locomotives of their own. Coal was worked at Coursington by 1849; the last workings were abandoned in 1926. Boys of fourteen died at its picking tables and screens.

History

Coursington Colliery lay at Motherwell, near the Dalzell Iron and Steel Works. Coal was worked there early: the Pyotshaw and Main workings at Coursington were abandoned in 1849. In the twentieth century it belonged to the Wishaw Coal Co. Ltd, whose Pits Nos. 2 and 3 stood on a short branch of the Wishaw Estate Railway running north-east from beside the Dalzell works. No. 2 pit, also known as Dalzell Colliery Pit No. 2, had its own locomotives, one built by the Clyde Locomotive Company.

The colliery had a screening plant with travelling picking tables, and boys died there. In 1907 a 14-year-old dirt packer, reaching across an opening instead of walking round it, slipped and was caught by the conveyor beneath; in 1910 an 18-year-old coal picker who had climbed up to talk and smoke while the machinery was stopped was drawn into the gear wheels when it restarted; and in 1913 a 14-year-old dirt picker was thrown between the rails by a wagon and died of his injuries, after which a notice forbade lads to leave their work without permission. In 1912 a bottomer was crushed when the cage was raised without a signal, and a pithead runner was killed by a winch handle while pump rods were lowered; roof falls killed miners in 1910, 1915 and 1919.

Its Blackband workings were abandoned in 1915, its Kiltongue workings, at No. 3 pit among others, in 1920-21, and its Ell in 1926.

Geology

The Pyotshaw, Main, Ell and Kiltongue coals and the Blackband ironstone.

Workings

Pits Nos. 2 and 3 on a branch of the Wishaw Estate Railway, with their own locomotives, and a screening plant with travelling picking tables and a dirt conveyor.

Closure

Its Blackband workings were abandoned in 1915, the Kiltongue in 1920-21 and the Ell in 1926.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Broomside Colliery — Both were Wishaw Coal Company pits at Motherwell; RailScot calls Coursington Pit No. 2 Dalzell Colliery Pit No. 2, and Broomside was worked as Dalzell and Broomside Colliery.

Recorded claims

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

• Coursington Colliery belonged to the Wishaw Coal Co. Ltd in 1907-1919. ^1,2,3,4
• Coursington Pits Nos. 2 and 3 were on a short branch of the Wishaw Estate Railway, and No. 2 pit had its own locomotives. ⁵
• Coursington Colliery Pit No. 2 was also known as Dalzell Colliery Pit No. 2. ⁵
• In 1907 a 14-year-old dirt packer was caught by the conveyor under the picking tables. ³
• In 1913 a 14-year-old dirt picker was fatally injured by wagons at the screens. ⁶
• In October 1912 a pithead runner was killed by a winch handle while pump rods were being lowered. ^2,7
• Pyotshaw and Main workings at Coursington were abandoned in 1849. ⁸
• Its Ell workings were abandoned in 1926. ⁹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Accidents 1915-1925 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) Accidents 1901-1914 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Coursington, 1907 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Coursington, 1919 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (secondary) RailScot: Coursington Colliery Pit No 2 — RailScot
6. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Coursington, 1913 — Northern Mine Research Society
7. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Coursington, 1912 (McKenna) — Northern Mine Research Society
8. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Coursington, Pyotshaw and Main, abandoned 1849 — British Geological Survey
9. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Coursington, Ell, abandoned 1926 — British Geological Survey
10. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Coursington, Blackband, abandoned 1915 — British Geological Survey
11. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Coursington, 1912 (Wallace) — Northern Mine Research Society

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