Duntilland Colliery

Overview

A Coltness Iron Company colliery at Duntilland, just north of Salsburgh in North Lanarkshire, that worked ironstone and the Drumgray coals from the 1860s and 1870s. Returned with neighbouring Dewshill between the wars, it employed 168 under the National Coal Board in 1947 and closed in 1951.

History

Duntilland lies half a mile north-north-east of Salsburgh, on the high moorland between Airdrie and Shotts, and its coal and ironstone were worked for the Coltness Iron Company of Newmains. The NCB's list dates the colliery to 1865, and plans of the company's early workings there survive: Duntilland No. 1 ironstone pit was abandoned in 1876, workings in the Lower Drumgray and Smithy coals in 1877, Duntilland No. 3 in 1886 and the Smithy and Gas coals in 1897. A local account has production beginning in 1896 with a workforce of just under two hundred.

The official lists show a small colliery, raising household, manufacturing and steam coal: 47 employed in 1894, 116 in 1900 and 56 in 1910, working the Lower and then the Upper Drumgray. By 1920 it was working eight thin seams, the Back, Big Drum, Fallowhill, Kirkrod, Robb, Skaterigg, Stoney and Wee Drum. Between the wars its men were counted with the neighbouring Dewshill pit, and Dewshill and Duntilland Colliery is said to have closed in 1943. Duntilland was working again at nationalisation in 1947, with 168 employed raising 40,000 tons a year, and the National Coal Board closed it in April 1951; its last Upper Drumgray workings were abandoned on 1 August 1951.

Geology

Central coalfield: the Lower and Upper Drumgray, Smithy and Gas coals and thin seams including the Back, Big Drum, Fallowhill, Kirkrod, Robb, Skaterigg, Stoney and Wee Drum, with ironstone.

Workings

Numbered pits from the 1870s (Nos. 1 and 3) working ironstone and the Drumgray and Smithy coals; worked with Dewshill between the wars.

Closure

Closed in April 1951 (NMRS NCB list); the Upper Drumgray plans are dated 1 August 1951. A gazetteer gives 1943 for the closure of 'Dewshill and Duntilland Colliery'.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Ardenrigg Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Blairhall Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Coventry Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Crofthead Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Hassockrigg Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Milnwood Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.
• Overtown Colliery — Coltness Iron Company collieries.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Duntilland Colliery began production in 1896 with a workforce of just under 200, owned by the Coltness Iron Co. Ltd, and closed in 1951. (disputed) ²
• Dewshill and Duntilland Colliery, beyond Duntilland Quarry, closed in 1943. (disputed) ⁶

Recorded claims

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

• Duntilland Colliery at Salsburgh is listed from 1865 to April 1951. ¹
• Duntilland Colliery began production in 1896 with a workforce of just under 200, owned by the Coltness Iron Co. Ltd, and closed in 1951. (disputed) ²
• Plans of Duntilland No. 1 ironstone workings were abandoned in 1876, and of its Smithy and Gas coals in 1897. ^3,4
• Duntilland employed 47 in 1894, 116 in 1900 and 168 in 1947, when it raised 40,000 tons; between 1923 and 1940 it was returned with Dewshill. ⁵
• Dewshill and Duntilland Colliery, beyond Duntilland Quarry, closed in 1943. (disputed) ⁶
• The Duntilland Upper Drumgray workings were abandoned on 1 August 1951. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Salsburgh — Wikipedia
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Duntilland No. 1, ironstone, abandoned 1876 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: Duntilland, Smithy and Gas, abandoned 1897 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
5. (primary) Duntilland Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
6. (secondary) Duntilland — Gazetteer for Scotland
7. (primary) BGS mine plan: Duntilland, Upper Drumgray, abandoned 1 August 1951 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026