Fairlie Colliery

Overview

A colliery three miles south-west of Kilmarnock, at work by 1834, whose restless village was emptied and refilled twice in five years before 1842, and which worked the Ell, Splint, Turf and Wee coals into the twentieth century.

History

A plan of the Templeton Pit of Fairlie Colliery, in the Diamond or Blind coal, was closed off in 1834, so the colliery was at work by then. In 1842 the Rev. Andrew Glen, a missionary who had worked for five years among the colliers of Shewalton, Fairlie and Gatehead, gave evidence to the Children's Employment Commission. At Fairlie the population was so unsettled that within five years the village had twice been emptied and repeopled; the men were hired only by the fortnight, kept no gardens because, as they said, they did not know where they might be the next fortnight, and drank more than at the neighbouring pits. Fire-damp in one seam at Fairlie was among the causes of accidents. Fairlie and Gatehead shared a school, much improved in recent years, and a missionary library.

A railway branch from Fairlie Junction on the Kilmarnock and Troon line, open from 1849 to 1951, crossed the River Irvine to serve Fairlie, Caprington and other pits. The colliery was owned in turn by John Gilmour and Co., William Walker, W. C. S. Cuninghame and Caprington and Auchlochan Collieries, and employed between 105 and 237 people from 1894 to 1910, when it worked the Ell, Splint, Turf and Wee seams. A collier, David Sim, was killed by an explosion of firedamp there in 1857.

Geology

The Diamond or Blind coal, and later the Ell, Splint, Turf and Wee seams; one seam gave off firedamp in 1842.

Workings

Several pits, among them the Templeton Pit, served by a railway branch from Fairlie Junction across the River Irvine.

Closure

Abandonment plans for the Ell seam are dated 1911 and 1913, and for the Splint, Turf and Wee seams 1914.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Caprington Colliery — Both pits were served by the Fairlie branch railway, and Fairlie later passed to Caprington and Auchlochan Collieries.

Recorded claims

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

• A plan of Fairlie Colliery's Templeton Pit, in the Diamond or Blind coal, records its abandonment in 1834. ¹
• By 1842 Fairlie's colliery village had twice in five years been emptied of its inhabitants and repeopled; its men were hired by the fortnight. ²
• In 1842 burning from fire-damp in one seam at Fairlie was among the principal causes of accidents in the district. ²
• A branch from Fairlie Junction (1849-1951) on the Kilmarnock and Troon line served Fairlie Colliery, Caprington Colliery and other pits. ³
• Fairlie was owned by John Gilmour and Co., William Walker, W. C. S. Cuninghame and Caprington and Auchlochan Collieries. ⁴
• Fairlie employed 190 people in 1894, 237 in 1900 and 180 in 1910, when it worked the Ell, Splint, Turf and Wee seams. ⁴
• An abandonment plan of Fairlie's Splint, Turf and Wee seams is dated 1914. ⁵

Sources

1. (primary) BGS mine plan: Fairlie Colliery, Templeton Pit (Diamond or Blind coal, abandoned 1834) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
2. (primary) Ayrshire (1842 Children's Employment Commission evidence) — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Fairlie Junction — RailScot
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Fairlie Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Fairlie (Splint, Turf and Wee, abandoned 1914) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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