MineArchiveKirkhill Colliery
| Location | Kirkhill, Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire — 55.8183, -4.1618 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodities | Coal, Fireclay |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | c. 1880–c. 1900 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Kirkhill Coal Company (1880–1899) |
Overview
A small colliery and brickworks at Kirkhill, Cambuslang, worked by the Kirkhill Coal Company under Robert Adam from about 1880 until the company gave up its lease in 1899; it employed 155 men in 1900.
History
Kirkhill Colliery lay at Kirkhill, Cambuslang. It was worked from about 1880 by the Kirkhill Coal Company, whose chief partner was Robert Adam, a Justice of the Peace for Lanarkshire who chaired Cambuslang Parish Council for a term. In 1893 the company was listed as raising coal and fireclay, with James Hogg as manager, and from 1896 Adam also ran the Kirkhill Brickworks beside the pit.
The pit raised household and steam coal, worked partly by stoop and room, and its recorded deaths were nearly all falls of coal or roof: a collier holing in 1885, a boy at the side of a stoop in 1886, a seventeen-year-old on a road in 1889. In 1892 a miner of 45 was killed when a spark from his naked light set off compressed powder. In July 1888 James Collington was badly hurt by a fall of clay from the roof. At the brickworks in August 1898 a boy of about 14 was caught by the fans while oiling the machinery and killed.
In October 1899 the company let it be known that it would not renew its lease when it expired on 11 November, and the factor for the ground, A. G. Barns Graham of Milngavie, offered to buy the colliery and all its appliances; the brickworks were advertised for sale that December. The colliery still employed 155 men in 1900, 129 of them underground, and the Kirkhill Coal Company was still listed in 1901. When Adam died in 1910 he was remembered as the proprietor of Kirkhill Colliery until within a few years of its closing.
Geology
Coal worked for household and steam use, with fireclay; the seams are not recorded.
Workings
Stoop-and-room and holing faces underground, with a brickworks beside the pit from 1896.
Closure
The Kirkhill Coal Company gave up its lease on 11 November 1899; the colliery is recorded as closing in 1900.
What remains
Unknown.
Related mines
- Newton Colliery, Cambuslang — Neighbouring collieries in Cambuslang parish.
Nearby mines
- Clyde Colliery, Hamilton — 0.8 miles (1.2 km) N
- Gilbertfield Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) SE
- Wellshot Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) W
- Coatspark Colliery — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) W
- Kenmuirhill Colliery — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) N, Glasgow
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.
- Kirkhill Colliery, Cambuslang, opened in 1880 and closed in 1900, owned by the Kirkhill Coal Company. 1
- In 1893 the Kirkhill Coal Company of Cambuslang raised coal and fireclay at Kirkhill, with James Hogg as manager. 2
- In 1900 Kirkhill employed 155 men, 129 below ground and 26 at the surface, raising household and steam coal. 1
- The Kirkhill Coal Company's lease expired on 11 November 1899 and the company, whose chief partner was Robert Adam, did not renew it. 3
- On 21 December 1892 a miner of 45 was killed at Kirkhill by an explosion of compressed powder from a spark off his naked light. 1
Sources
- (primary) Kirkhill Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) List of Mines in Scotland, 1893 — Scottish Mining Website
- (secondary) Kirkhill Brickworks, Cambuslang, Glasgow — Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry (scottishbrickhistory.co.uk)
Record created: 20 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026