Drumcarrow Colliery

Overview

A small colliery west of Drumcarrow farm, near Cupar, worked from the mid-1700s to about 1850, whose coal set itself on fire: in 1842 part of the coal wall was burning and the smoke could stop work altogether.

History

Drumcarrow Colliery, in Cameron parish, dated from the mid-eighteenth century and lay a quarter of a mile west of Drumcarrow farm, with its Crop and Dean pits and an engine pit. In 1833 a coal-work was advertised as newly opened at Drumcarrow, three miles from Cupar, and in April 1838 William Wallace was killed when a hook came out of the bucket as three men were being drawn up the shaft.

In 1842 Williamson and Co. were lessees. The overseer, Alexander Telfer, told the Children's Employment Commission that about 50 people worked in the mine, 15 of them under 18; very young people were of no use, because the coal was frequently on fire and had to be kept at bay, and the works had once been stopped for some years by the wasting fire. The pit was descended by a single shaft 65 fathoms deep divided by a partition, there was much choke-damp in warm weather, and the colliers, many of them former farm labourers, were called grass-colliers. The commissioners singled out Drumcarra, Largo Ward and Teasses for coal that fired spontaneously; at Drumcarra part of the coal wall was alight and the 'stifle' often stopped work. The colliery closed around 1850; a separate group of pits east of the farm worked into the 1860s.

Geology

A coal liable to spontaneous combustion, with choke-damp in warm weather but no firedamp.

Workings

The Crop and Dean pits and an engine pit; in 1842 one shaft 65 fathoms deep, divided by a partition for ventilation.

Closure

Closed around 1850.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Teasses Colliery — The 1842 commissioners named Teasses and Drumcarra together for coal that fired spontaneously.

Recorded claims

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

• Drumcarrow (West) Colliery dated from the mid-eighteenth century and closed around 1850. ¹
• In 1842 about 50 people were employed in the mine, 15 of them under 18. ^2,1
• In 1842 the coal was frequently on fire, and the works had once been stopped for some years by the wasting fire. ²
• In 1842 the pit was descended by one shaft 65 fathoms deep, divided by a partition. ²
• In April 1838 William Wallace was killed at Drumcarro colliery when a hook came out of the bucket as men were drawn up the shaft. ¹
• A separate group of three pits east of Drumcarrow farm was working in the 1850s and into the 1860s. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Pit-D-4. Drumcarrow (West) Colliery — Fife Pits and Memories
2. (primary) East Fife (1842 Children's Employment Commission evidence) — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Pit-D-9. Drumcarrow (East) Pits — Fife Pits and Memories

Record created: 19 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026