Ferniegair Colliery

Overview

Archibald Russell's colliery at Ferniegair, Hamilton, worked from about 1850 until February 1947. Its long stoop-and-room workings were prone to firedamp: explosions burned men in 1867, 1871 and 1880, and in 1909 an electric coal-cutter's cable fired gas and killed three.

History

Ferniegair Colliery lay at Ferniegair, Hamilton, and is dated from about 1850. It belonged to Russell and Co. in 1871, to Archibald Russell in 1880 and to Archibald Russell Ltd of Glasgow by 1909. Its miners lived in the Ferniegair Rows and in Hamilton. In 1867 a man blasting with a naked lamp fired gas in an adjoining working, burning two; on 7 September 1871 an explosion while men were taking down stoops several hundred yards from the No. 2 Pit bottom burned ten, one of whom, the boy Robert Feely, died; and in April 1880 a miner and his two sons were burned, one fatally, when a fall released gas at the stoops of the Main coal.

The colliery employed about 300 people in the 1890s and 473 in 1905, working the Ell, Main, Pyotshaw, Splint and Virtuewell coals, with the Humph and Blackband by 1915. On Sunday 27 June 1909 three men working an electric coal-cutting machine in the Virtuewell seam were killed by an explosion of gas, fired, the widows alleged, by the electric plant; Lord Dewar dismissed their actions for damages against Archibald Russell Ltd.

Employment stayed between 350 and 480 until the 1940s; in 1947 the colliery raised 88,000 tons with 448 people. It closed in February 1947, just after nationalisation, and its last Splint plan was lodged that year.

Geology

Lanarkshire coalfield: the Ell, Main, Pyotshaw, Splint, Virtuewell, Humph and Blackband, worked largely by stoop and room.

Workings

Nos. 1 and 2 Pits; stoop-and-room workings extending several hundred yards from the pit bottom; electric coal-cutting machines by 1909.

Closure

Closed in February 1947, weeks after nationalisation; the Splint abandonment plan is dated 1947.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Dechmont Colliery — Both worked by Archibald Russell Ltd.
• Greenfield Colliery — Both worked by Archibald Russell Ltd.
• Polmaise Colliery — Both worked by Archibald Russell Ltd.
• Tannochside Colliery — Both worked by Archibald Russell Ltd.

Recorded claims

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

• Ferniegair belonged to Russell and Co. in 1871, to Archibald Russell in 1880 and to Archibald Russell Ltd in 1909. ^1,2,3,4
• Ferniegair Colliery is dated from 1850 to February 1947. ⁵
• On 7 September 1871 an explosion of firedamp at the stoops of No. 2 Pit burned ten men and boys, and the boy Robert Feely died. ^3,4
• On 27 June 1909 three men working an electric coal-cutting machine in the Virtuewell seam were killed by an explosion of gas. ^1,4
• Lord Dewar dismissed the widows' actions for damages against Archibald Russell Ltd over the 1909 explosion. ¹
• The colliery employed 305 people in 1894, 473 in 1905 and 448 in 1947, when it raised 88,000 tons. ⁴
• The Splint workings at Ferniegair were abandoned in 1947. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Hamilton Parish Accidents 1900-1914 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) Accidents 1876-1899 — Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Hamilton Accidents to 1875 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
4. (primary) Ferniegare Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
5. (secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Ferniegair, Splint, abandoned 1947 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026