Herbertshire Colliery

Overview

A Denny colliery originally sunk for ironstone rather than coal, whose No. 3 pit was the site of a fatal 1893 explosion so thoroughly investigated by a government inquiry that the resulting report still reads, in places, like a detective story about a tampered safety lamp.

History

The Herbertshire mineral field was originally worked for ironstone, and the mine that became known as No. 3 pit was first sunk to a depth of 100 fathoms for that purpose. Once the workable ironstone was exhausted, the pit was deepened by a further 27 fathoms to reach the main coal seam, giving a total depth of 143 fathoms by around 1886. Working the coal by the longwall method, the pit — known officially as Herbertshire No. 3 and locally as the Woodyetts or Station Pit — was owned by Messrs Addie and Sons, Limited. On 30 June 1893 an explosion in the Dook Section of the pit killed two men and injured several others, prompting a formal government inquiry. By 1900 Herbertshire, alongside the neighbouring Quarter and Carronrig pits, employed over 500 men between them, its steam coal particularly valued for shipping use. By 1912 the colliery and an associated brickworks had been taken over by the Callendar Coal Company, which diversified into a wide range of fireclay goods — firebricks, chimney cans, grate and stove bricks, electrical ducting and drainage pipes — alongside coal. The colliery closed in 1959 after roughly seventy years of working, having employed between 300 and 400 men at any one time through much of its life.

Geology

The Herbertshire field lies within the Stirlingshire coalfield, part of the Central Belt coal measures, with an ironstone horizon lying above the main workable coal seam — the reason the pit was originally sunk for one mineral and only later deepened to reach the other.

Workings

No. 3 pit had two shafts 100 feet apart — a larger downcast shaft 17 by 6 feet and a smaller upcast shaft 15 by 6 feet, the upcast fitted with a Schiele fan capable of exhausting 75,000 cubic feet of air a minute. The pit was divided into a Mine Section on the rise side and a Dook Section on the dip side, together employing about 140 men by day and 20 to 30 at night. Coal was worked longwall, using Marsaut safety lamps rather than naked lights once gas had first been encountered during shaft sinking.

Closure

Herbertshire closed in 1959 after roughly seventy years of working.

What remains

Nothing of the colliery survives above ground; the site and surrounding area have been redeveloped, with Herbertshire Playing Fields and footpaths now occupying part of the former colliery ground, and the trackbed of the old mineral railway to Denny surviving as a walking route.

Herbertshire Playing Fields and footpaths on part of the former colliery site; the trackbed of the old mineral line to Denny.

Redevelopment

Redeveloped as playing fields and open ground; nothing of the colliery buildings survives.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Herbertshire Colliery explosion, 1893
  30 June 1893 · Explosion · 2 fatalities
  On the afternoon of 30 June 1893, an explosion of firedamp and coal dust in the Dook Section of Herbertshire No. 3 pit, Denny, killed two men and injured several more. A formal government inquiry, appointed personally by the Home Secretary H. H. Asquith, concluded after a two-day hearing and 29 witnesses that a safety lamp had been unlawfully opened, exposing a naked flame in ground where fine, dry coal dust turned a small gas ignition into a serious explosion.

Recorded claims

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

• The Herbertshire mineral field was originally sunk for ironstone to a depth of 100 fathoms, then deepened a further 27 fathoms to reach the main coal seam, giving a total depth of 143 fathoms by around 1886. ¹
• No. 3 pit had two shafts 100 ft apart, a Schiele ventilating fan exhausting 75,000 cubic feet of air a minute, and employed about 140 men by day and 20-30 at night, working longwall with Marsaut safety lamps. ¹
• By 1900 Herbertshire and the neighbouring Quarter and Carronrig pits employed over 500 men between them, producing steam coal particularly valued for shipping. ²
• By 1912 the colliery and its brickworks had been taken over by the Callendar Coal Company, which diversified into firebricks, chimney cans, grate and stove bricks, electrical ducting and drainage pipes. ²
• The colliery closed in 1959 after roughly seventy years of working. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (primary) Report on the Herbertshire Colliery Explosion, Denny — 1893 government inquiry — Scottish Mining Website (reproducing the official 1893 government inquiry report)
2. (secondary) Denny: A town quick to take new opportunities — Falkirk Herald

Record created: 25 August 2026 · Last researched: 25 August 2026