Little Raith Colliery

Overview

The Lochgelly Iron Company's group of pits east of Cowdenbeath, worked from at least 1852, also called Dora Colliery after its Dora Pit of 1874-75. It employed 850 in 1920, closed in 1959 and may have given an early Raith Rovers its name.

History

Little Raith Colliery lay south-east of Cowdenbeath and was a group of pits and mines worked by the Lochgelly Iron Company from at least 1852, with William Pitblado as manager until 1864, and by its successor the Lochgelly Iron and Coal Company from the early 1870s. The Lady, John and Foulford No. 2 pits were working in 1873; the Dora Pit was sunk in 1874-75, and the Gordon Pit and the Lochhead pits and mine were added, so that the colliery was also known as Dora Colliery.

It worked gas, household, manufacturing and steam coals from the Lochgelly Splint, Dunfermline Splint, Five Feet, Fourteen Feet, Glassee, Jewel, Mynheer and Duddy Davie seams. Employment grew from 528 in 1894 to 850 in 1920. Four men were killed in an overwind in 1883 and two when a winding rope broke in 1897 (see Disasters, below).

The colliery was shut down in 1933, was working again by 1940 with 260 men, and passed to the National Coal Board in 1947. It closed in 1959. Its name may live on in football: an early club called Raith Rovers, distinct from the Kirkcaldy side, was probably named after it and merged with Cowdenbeath Rangers to form Cowdenbeath F.C.

Geology

Central Fife coalfield: the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot, Dunfermline Splint, Five Feet, Fourteen Feet, Glassee, Jewel, Mynheer and Duddy Davie seams, with the Lochgelly Blackband ironstone.

Workings

The Lady, John, Dora (1874-75), Gordon, Lochhead and Foulford No. 2 pits and the Lochhead Mine.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in 1959, after a shutdown in 1933 and reopening by 1940.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Little Raith Colliery overwinding, 1883
  15 August 1883 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 4 fatalities
  On 15 August 1883, as the men of Little Raith Colliery near Cowdenbeath were being drawn up at the end of the shift, the cage at the Dora Pit was wound past the landing and over the pulley wheels. Of the seven aboard, four died, among them Thomas Adams and his son James; the engineman was arrested.
• Little Raith Colliery rope failure, 1897
  22 January 1897 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 2 fatalities
  On the morning of 22 January 1897 the steel winding rope at the Dora Pit, Little Raith Colliery, snapped as two men were lowered to clear machinery from abandoned lower workings. James Graham and Hugh Thomson fell with the cage to the bottom of the 100-fathom shaft and were killed.

Culture

• Cowdenbeath F.C. (Sports)
  One of the clubs that formed Cowdenbeath F.C. in 1882, Raith Rovers, was associated with the Lochgelly company's pits and probably took its name from Little Raith Colliery.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• An early Raith Rovers, distinct from the Kirkcaldy club, was probably named for the Little Raith colliery and merged with Cowdenbeath Rangers to form Cowdenbeath F.C. (uncertain) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Little Raith was worked by the Lochgelly Iron Company from 1852, with William Pitblado as manager until 1864, and later by the Lochgelly Iron and Coal Company. ^1,2
• The Dora Pit was being sunk in 1874 and opened up in 1875. ²
• Little Raith employed 528 in 1894 and 850 in 1920. ¹
• The colliery closed in 1959. ^1,2
• An early Raith Rovers, distinct from the Kirkcaldy club, was probably named for the Little Raith colliery and merged with Cowdenbeath Rangers to form Cowdenbeath F.C. (uncertain) ³
• The Gordon Pit was one of the pits of Little Raith Colliery, worked by the Lochgelly Iron and Coal Company. ^1,4
• Abandonment plans for Little Raith include the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Little Raith Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Little Raith Colliery, Cowdenbeath — Fife Pits and Memorial Book (Michael Martin)
3. (secondary) Raith, Fife — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) Gordon Pit, Little Raith Colliery, nr Cowdenbeath — Fife Pits and Memorial Book (Michael Martin)
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Little Raith, Lochgelly Splint and Parrot — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026