Eddlewood Colliery

Overview

John Watson Ltd's Eddlewood pit at Hamilton, scene of the 1897 strike evictions, whose filled No. 3 shaft burst into neighbouring Neilsland Colliery in 1916.

History

Eddlewood Colliery was John Watson Ltd's pit at Eddlewood, Hamilton, many of whose workers lived in the company's houses at Eddlewood and Low Waters. It was being deepened in the 1880s: in January 1882 the sinker James Harper was crushed by a ton of fireclay while sinking No. 2 Pit from the Ell to the Main coal, and in August 1890 James Gowans died sinking a new shaft. No. 3 Pit was about 100 fathoms deep in 1902, when William Rankin was carried down it with the cage.

In 1897 the miners struck for six weeks against a wage cut, and John Watson Ltd raised a hundred summonses in Hamilton Sheriff Court to evict strikers at Eddlewood and Neilsland from the company's houses; decrees were granted with five days' notice, and a protest meeting denounced the 'Jubilee treat' of ejecting a hundred families.

About 1910 the No. 3 shaft, 125 fathoms deep, was filled with sludge from the Eddlewood coal washer, and the coal it had served was worked from the neighbouring Neilsland Colliery. In April 1916 that fill burst into the Neilsland workings and killed five men. Abandonment plans of the Eddlewood seams were lodged in 1931 and 1932.

Geology

Lanarkshire Coal Measures. The colliery worked the Ell and Main coals; abandonment plans of the Pyotshaw, Upper Ell, Main and Splint are catalogued.

Workings

At least three pits: No. 2, sunk from the Ell to the Main coal in 1882; a new shaft sunk in 1890; and No. 3, 125 fathoms deep, filled with washery sludge about 1910. The colliery had its own washery.

Closure

The No. 3 shaft was filled about 1910 and its coal worked from Neilsland; the last Eddlewood seam plans (Main and Splint) are dated 1932.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Neilsland Colliery — John Watson Ltd's neighbouring pit: Eddlewood's Ell Coal was worked from Neilsland, and the filled Eddlewood No. 3 shaft burst into Neilsland's workings in 1916.

Recorded claims

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

• In January 1882 the sinker James Harper was killed at Eddlewood Colliery while sinking a shaft in No. 2 Pit from the Ell to the Main coal. ¹
• In May 1902 William Rankin was carried down No. 3 Pit, Eddlewood Colliery, belonging to John Watson Ltd, with the cage, a depth of 100 fathoms. ²
• The old shaft, formerly Eddlewood No. 3, was 125 fathoms deep and had been filled five or six years before 1916. ³
• In September 1897 John Watson Ltd called 100 ejectment summonses at Hamilton Sheriff Court against their workmen on strike at Eddlewood and Neilsland collieries. ⁴
• Part of the Ell Coal left when Eddlewood Colliery was abandoned was to be worked from the Neilsland shafts. ⁵
• Eddlewood Upper Ell workings were abandoned in 1931 and the Main in 1932. ^6,7

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Accidents 1876-1899 — Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) Hamilton Parish Accidents 1900-1914 — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Neilsland 1916 - Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
4. (secondary) Strikes - Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
5. (secondary) Neilsland Colliery Inrush - Lanarkshire - 1916 - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) BGS mine plans: Eddlewood (Main, abandoned 1932) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
7. (primary) BGS mine plans: Eddlewood (Upper Ell, abandoned 1931) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026