MineArchiveGrougar Colliery
| Location | Near Hurlford, three miles east of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire — 55.6077, -4.4185 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1855–c. 1890 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Eglinton Iron Company, William Baird & Company |
Overview
An Eglinton Iron Company colliery east of Kilmarnock, near Hurlford, worked from 1855 until about 1890 and later under William Baird and Company.
History
Grougar Colliery lay about three miles east of Kilmarnock, near Hurlford. It was opened in 1855 and worked in turn by the Portland Iron Company, the Eglinton Iron Company and William Baird and Company, raising household and manufacturing coal; one of its pits was No. 4. Its recorded deaths were mostly falls of coal at the face, among them boys of 13 and 16 in 1868 and 1872.
In June 1880 a pony driver of 13, John Hopkins, was taking a race of empty hutches from the pit bottom to send down the dook but had not finished coupling them; as the front of the race passed over the brow it ran away, capsized about fifty yards down, and he was found dead beneath the first hutch. Falls of coal killed colliers in 1882 and 1884. In 1893 Grougar was listed under the Eglinton Iron Company with John Love as manager, and in 1894 it employed 88 men. It is recorded as closing about 1890, and plans of its abandoned workings are dated 1891 to 1895.
Geology
Unknown.
Workings
Several pits, among them No. 4, with dooks worked by races of hutches from the pit bottom.
Closure
Recorded as closed in 1890, though still listed in 1893 and with 88 men in 1894; abandonment plans are dated 1891 to 1895.
What remains
Unknown.
Related mines
- Loudoun Colliery — Worked by the same succession of owners; both listed under the Eglinton Iron Co. with John Love as manager in 1893.
Nearby mines
- Holmes Colliery — 0.8 miles (1.2 km) S
- Goatfoot Colliery — 1.0 miles (1.7 km) SE
- Gauchalland Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.0 km) SE
- Portland Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.2 km) W
- Maxwood Colliery — 2.3 miles (3.6 km) E
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Grougar Colliery, east of Kilmarnock, opened in 1855; its owners were the Portland Iron Co., the Eglinton Iron Co. and William Baird and Co. 1
- In June 1880 John Hopkins, a pony driver of 13, was killed at Grougar when an uncoupled race of hutches ran away down a dook and capsized. 2,1
- In 1893 Grougar was listed under the Eglinton Iron Co. with John Love as manager. 3
- Abandonment plans of Grougar workings are dated from 1891 to 1895. 4
Sources
- (primary) Grougar Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Fatal accidents in Scottish mines, 1880 — Scottish Mining Website
- (primary) List of Mines in Scotland, 1893 — Scottish Mining Website
- (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21854103: Grougar, abandoned 1891 — British Geological Survey
Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026