Lethans Colliery

Overview

Two Wilsons and Clyde Coal Company pits of the early twentieth century near Saline, No. 1 north of Knock Hill and No. 2 at Steelend, which worked the Five Feet steam coal and were served by the Steelend Branch Extension and the West of Fife Mineral Railway; No. 1 closed about 1920 and No. 2 in 1933, leaving a surface mine that stopped in 1938.

History

The Lethans No. 1 and No. 2 collieries were ventures of the Wilsons and Clyde Coal Company of Glasgow on the ground of the older Lethans collieries near Saline, No. 1 north of Knock Hill and No. 2 at Steelend. They opened about 1905, the surface mine about 1906, and RAILSCOT dates No. 1 to 1907-1920 and No. 2 to 1905-1938. Fife Pits records 14 underground and 11 on the surface in 1905 and 137 and 18 under the manager Alex Bauld in 1908; in 1911 No. 1 had 105 and 20 and No. 2 106 and 27, in 1918 No. 1 had 39 and 18 and No. 2 148 and 33, and in 1920 No. 2 had 218 and 53. Alexander Bauld left in 1923 and a Mr Russell came from Lanarkshire; Thomas Bauld managed No. 2 in 1928 with 196 underground and 67 on the surface working steam coal from the Five Feet seam, with a surface mine pumping beside it.

The Five Foot coal lay 74 fathoms down at No. 2, 4 feet thick under thick sandstone, and was worked as a navigation coal. No. 2 was re-developed in 1929 and the pit was abandoned in 1933, leaving the No. 2 surface mine, which had 105 underground and 47 on the surface under Alex Gibson in 1938 and was abandoned in June that year.

No. 1 was served by a railway from the east, the Steelend Branch Extension of the North British Railway, which ran north from Steelend Goods round the east side of Knock Hill; its site is now occupied by farm buildings and a house, a girder bridge that carried a minor road over the line remains, and the line's formation is largely intact. No. 2 was served by the West of Fife Mineral Railway.

Geology

The Five Foot coal, 4 feet thick under thick sandstone at 74 fathoms at No. 2, worked as a navigation and steam coal; the Main Group in the district is very variable, with four to seven seams.

Workings

Two pits, No. 1 and No. 2, with a surface mine pumping at No. 2; No. 1 was served by the Steelend Branch Extension and No. 2 by the West of Fife Mineral Railway.

Closure

No. 1 closed about 1920 according to RAILSCOT; the No. 2 pit was abandoned in 1933 and the surface mine in June 1938.

What remains

The site of No. 1 is occupied by farm buildings and a house; a girder bridge that carried a minor road over the railway remains.

A girder bridge that carried a minor road over the Steelend Branch Extension, east of the No. 1 site; the line's formation is largely intact.

Redevelopment

The No. 1 site is farm buildings and a house.

Related mines

• Saline Valley Colliery — Saline Valley Colliery, the West of Fife Coal Company's operation, lay just north of the older Lethans collieries on which the Wilsons and Clyde pits were later opened.

Recorded claims

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

• The Lethans No. 1 and No. 2 collieries were Wilsons and Clyde Coal Company ventures of the early twentieth century, No. 1 north of Knock Hill and No. 2 at Steelend. ^1,2
• RAILSCOT dates Lethans Colliery Pit No. 1 to 1907-1920 and Pit No. 2 to 1905-1938. ^2,3
• The Lethans No. 2 pit was abandoned in 1933 and its surface mine in June 1938. ¹
• Employment was 137 underground and 18 on the surface in 1908, 218 and 53 at No. 2 in 1920 and 196 and 67 at No. 2 in 1928. ¹
• The Five Foot coal, 4 feet thick at 74 fathoms at No. 2, was worked as a navigation coal, and steam coal from the Five Feet was recorded in 1928. ¹
• No. 1 was served by the Steelend Branch Extension of the North British Railway from Steelend Goods, and No. 2 by the West of Fife Mineral Railway. ^2,3
• The site of Lethans No. 1 is now occupied by farm buildings and a house, and a girder bridge over the old line remains to the east. ²
• The No. 2 pit was re-developed in 1929. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Pit-L-9. Lethans No. 1 & No. 2 Collieries — Fife Pits and Memorial Book (Michael Martin)
2. (secondary) Lethans Colliery Pit No 1 (RAILSCOT) — RAILSCOT
3. (secondary) Lethans Colliery Pit No 2 (RAILSCOT) — RAILSCOT

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