Fairhill Colliery

Overview

Archibald Russell's colliery at Fairhill, Hamilton, employing nearly 400 men in 1894 and abandoned in January 1906.

History

Fairhill Colliery lay at Fairhill, Hamilton, and belonged to the coalmaster Archibald Russell. In 1894 it employed 386 men, 316 of them underground, raising gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal. In October of that year a miner of 44, William Jack, was killed at nine at night by a fall of stone while drawing wood from a road, and in January 1895 a miner of 16, Patrick Kyle, was killed by a fall of coal.

The workforce then fell steadily: 322 in 1896, 217 in 1900 and only 65 in 1905, of whom 35 were at the surface. The colliery was abandoned on 18 January 1906, the year of the plans of its abandoned workings.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

Unknown.

Closure

Abandoned on 18 January 1906.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Allanshaw Colliery — Neighbouring collieries at Hamilton; allanshaw-colliery's record names Fairhill among its neighbours.
• Barncluith Colliery — Both Archibald Russell collieries at Hamilton.

Recorded claims

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

• Fairhill Colliery, Hamilton, belonged to Archibald Russell. ^1,2
• Fairhill employed 386 men in 1894 and 65 in 1905, and was abandoned on 18 January 1906. ²
• On 26 October 1894 a miner of 44, William Jack, was killed at Fairhill by a fall of stone. ^1,2
• Abandonment plans of Fairhill workings are dated 1906. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Fatal accidents in mines in Scotland, 1894 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) Fairhill Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21912651: Fairhill, abandoned 1906 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026