Kirkford Colliery

Overview

A deep Fife Coal Company shaft at Crosskeys Junction west of Cowdenbeath, Cowdenbeath No. 10, sunk in 1896-98 to the Dunfermline Splint at 236 fathoms, the deepest in the area at the time; it stopped producing in 1928 and served Cowdenbeath No. 7 as a pumping, ventilation and access shaft.

History

Kirkford Colliery, also called Cowdenbeath No. 10, stood near the old North Road at Crosskeys Junction, west of Cowdenbeath and south of Leuchatsbeath. The newly amalgamated Cowdenbeath Coal Company and Fife Coal Company sank it in 1896-98 to the Dunfermline Splint at 236 fathoms, the deepest shaft in the area at that time, and roads were quickly driven to the Dalbeath, Mossbeath, Lindsay and Cowdenbeath No. 7 collieries. A day level 1,400 yards long in the Lochgelly Splint drained water from No. 7, and an extension of No. 7's mineral line joined the pit to the main railway. Henry Rowan was in charge of the sinking.

The 16-foot winding drum was driven by steam engines and each 40-second wind raised two tons of coal in four hutches, for an output of about 1,000 tons a day. Ram pumps in the pit bottom, worked by steel rods in the shaft from engines on the surface, could raise 1,300 gallons a minute. Manpower figures are given with Cowdenbeath No. 7: 417 underground and 43 on the surface in 1902, 532 and 97 in 1908, 587 and 121 in 1911 and 347 and 147 in 1918. W. E. Richardson managed the two pits from 1902 to 1905, Robert Crawford from 1909 to 1912 and George S. Christie from 1912.

The Dunfermline Splint lay 233 fathoms down and measured 4 ft 9 in; the Five Foot was 5 ft 9 in, the Glassee 6 ft 9 in at 195 fathoms and the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot 9 to 13 ft together. Kirkford stopped producing temporarily in 1928 under the Scottish marketing scheme to restrict output and did not reopen. No. 10 remained a pumping, ventilation and access shaft for No. 7, whose miners used the pit baths and the main lamp station there, and a workshop kept the pumps in repair.

Among the accidents reported were John Park, a hanger-on jammed between hutches in the Five Foot seam in March 1902; John Wood, run over by wagons in May 1903; James Smith and George Chapman, both killed by stone falls in November and December 1920; and the linesman David Cook Galloway, killed by an electric shock on 3 June 1931. On 1 February 1925 gunpowder exploded in the 'diamond' section, burning two men, and a heavy fall in the Glassee section killed two of three resting miners.

Geology

Coal seams cut in the shaft included the Dunfermline Splint at 233 fathoms (4 ft 9 in), the Two Foot (2 ft) seven or eight fathoms above it, the Five Foot (5 ft 9 in), the Jewel in two 1 ft 6 in leaves, the Mynheer in two leaves of 21 and 24 in, the Glassee (6 ft 9 in) at 195 fathoms, the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot worked as one seam of 9 to 13 ft, the Jersey coals, 2 ft 4 in of Fourteen Foot, the Little Splint of 2 ft 6 in to 3 ft, the Cardenden Smithy in leaves of 2 ft 11 in and 1 ft 10 in at 97 fathoms and the thin Bowesbank coal.

Workings

A single deep shaft with a 16-foot winding drum driven by steam engines, raising two tons in four hutches at each 40-second wind, ram pumps in the pit bottom worked by steel rods and capable of 1,300 gallons a minute, a day level of 1,400 yards in the Lochgelly Splint to drain Cowdenbeath No. 7, and roads to Dalbeath, Mossbeath, Lindsay and No. 7 collieries.

Closure

Production stopped in 1928 under the Scottish marketing scheme for restricting output and was not resumed; the shaft was kept for pumping, ventilation and access to Cowdenbeath No. 7, which worked on under the National Coal Board.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Dalbeath Colliery — Connecting roads were driven from Kirkford to Dalbeath when Kirkford was sunk in 1896-98.
• Mossbeath Colliery — Roads were driven from Kirkford to Mossbeath and the two pits shared ventilation and drainage with Cowdenbeath No. 7, as their joint abandonment plans show.

Recorded claims

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

• Cowdenbeath No. 10 (Kirkford) was sunk by the Cowdenbeath Coal Company and Fife Coal Company in 1896-98 to the Dunfermline Splint at 236 fathoms, the deepest shaft in the area at the time. ¹
• Kirkford Colliery was open under the Fife Coal Co. Ltd, and the National Coal Board took it over in 1947. ^1,2
• Roads were driven from Kirkford to the Dalbeath, Mossbeath, Lindsay and Cowdenbeath No. 7 collieries, and a 1,400-yard day level in the Lochgelly Splint drained water from No. 7. ¹
• Output was about 1,000 tons a day, and ram pumps in the pit bottom could raise 1,300 gallons of water a minute. ¹
• Manpower for Cowdenbeath Nos. 7 and 10 was 417 underground and 43 on the surface in 1902, 532 and 97 in 1908 and 587 and 121 in 1911. ¹
• Kirkford stopped producing in 1928 under the Scottish marketing scheme for restriction of output and did not reopen, remaining a pumping, ventilation and access shaft for Cowdenbeath No. 7. ¹
• On 1 February 1925 a heavy fall in the Glassee section at Kirkford Pit killed William M'Arthur, aged 17, and Robert Sharp, aged 36, and gunpowder burned two men in the diamond section the same afternoon. ³
• Fatal accidents reported at Kirkford include John Park in March 1902, John Wood in May 1903, James Smith in November 1920 and George Chapman in December 1920. ^4,3
• The British Geological Survey catalogues an abandonment plan titled Cowdenbeath Nos 7, 10, Foulford No 1 and Lumphinnans No 1, covering Kirkford (No. 10). ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Fife Pits: Cowdenbeath No. 10 (Kirkford) Pit — Fife Pits
2. (secondary) RAILSCOT: Kirkford Colliery — RAILSCOT
3. (secondary) Accidents post-1915 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
4. (secondary) Accidents 1901-1914 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plans: COWDENBEATH NOS 7, 10, FOULFORD NO 1, LUMPHINNANS NO 1 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026