Lochhead Colliery

Overview

A Wemyss Coal Company colliery at Coaltown of Wemyss, sunk in 1890 as the Lady Lilian pit and renamed Lochhead in 1898, linked underground to the Victoria Pit at West Wemyss harbour; three men died in an underground fire in 1907, it employed 841 in 1957, and it was the last Wemyss pit working when it closed on 27 March 1970.

History

The Lochhead Pit lay three quarters of a mile north of Coaltown of Wemyss and was linked underground to the old Wemyss Collieries No. 7 Pit, later the Victoria Pit, which stood on the shore at West Wemyss harbour. It was sunk in 1890 as the Lady Lilian Pit on older workings of 1839 by R. G. E. Wemyss, and when Randolph Wemyss and Lady Lilian divorced it was renamed Lochhead in 1898, after the nearby farm. The first Wemyss Private Railway locomotive was also named 'Lady Lilian'. A surface dipping mine was driven close to the east of the shaft about 1895, and the railway of 1901 linked the Lochhead and Hugo pits to Michael.

Employment rose from 497 underground and 65 on the surface in 1904 (including the dipping mine) to 938 and 127 in 1911; with the Victoria it was 718 and 134 in 1920, 711 and 145 in 1928, 697 and 155 in 1938, and 327 and 115 in 1945. The Wemyss Coal Company's managers included James Burgess in 1904 and George Welsh from 1918 to 1945. Under the National Coal Board, William Hampson was manager in 1947-58; in 1947 Lochhead and Victoria employed 491 underground and 140 on the surface and produced about 171,700 tons a year, and in 1957 Lochhead's 841 workers made it the third largest pit in east Fife after Michael and Wellesley. The Dysart Main, Lower Dysart and Mangie seams were worked, and ventilation was shared with Michael.

On 29 December 1907 an underground fire near the Lochhead shaft, in the old Duncan's workings, killed three men; George and James Dryburgh, who went down to rescue them, were the first Scots to win the Edward Medal (see Disasters, below). After the fire at Michael in 1967 Lochhead was scheduled for closure within twelve months, and Michael's fate prolonged its life; it closed in March 1970, when some 156 face workers sought redeployment, most of them to Seafield. Its closure ended the Wemyss Private Railway's traffic soon after.

Geology

The Dysart Main seam, liable to spontaneous combustion, with the Lower Dysart, Mangie and Boreland coals in the NCB years; the 1890 shaft was a 15 by 9 foot downcast of 390 feet working the Dysart Main.

Workings

The Lochhead shaft, joined underground by stone mines to the Victoria Pit at West Wemyss harbour about 2,700 yards away, with a surface dipping mine to the east; ventilated by two fans at Lochhead in 1907, a Walker of 100,000 cubic feet a minute and a Sirocco of 150,000, forcing in duplicate.

Closure

Scheduled for closure within twelve months in summer 1967, Lochhead was kept open after the Michael fire and closed on 27 March 1970, the last Wemyss pit to work.

What remains

The site has been cleared.

Redevelopment

Cleared.

Related mines

• Hugo Pit, Coaltown of Wemyss — The Wemyss estate railway linked the Hugo to the Lady Lilian (Lochhead) pit in 1891 to 1893.
• Michael Colliery — Lochhead's ventilation was partly shared with Michael, the Wemyss Private Railway linked them, and Michael's 1967 closure prolonged Lochhead's life to 1970.
• Victoria Pit, West Wemyss — The Victoria and Lochhead pits were linked underground by a haulage road, and Victoria's coal was raised at Lochhead from about 1910.

Disasters & major incidents

• Lochhead Colliery fire and whitedamp, 1907
  29 December 1907 · Fire · 3 fatalities
  An underground fire that broke out near the Lochhead shaft in the old Duncan's workings on Sunday 29 December 1907 sent carbon monoxide through the workings to the Victoria shaft at West Wemyss. It killed the fireman John Kilpatrick and Andrew Morris and William Scott, who went down to look for him. George and James Dryburgh, who went down to rescue them, were awarded the Edward Medal.

Recorded claims

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

• The Lochhead Pit was sunk in 1890 on older workings as the Lady Lilian Pit and renamed Lochhead in 1898. ¹
• Lochhead was linked underground by stone mines to the Wemyss No. 7 (Victoria) Pit at West Wemyss harbour, about 2,700 yards away, so coal could go to either shaft. ^2,1
• Employment at Lochhead was 497 underground and 65 on the surface in 1904, 938 and 127 in 1911, 718 and 134 with the Victoria in 1920 and 697 and 155 in 1938. ¹
• In 1947 Lochhead and Victoria employed 491 underground and 140 on the surface with an annual output of about 171,700 tons. ¹
• In 1957 Lochhead in Coaltown of Wemyss had 841 workers, the third largest pit in east Fife after Michael and Wellesley. ³
• Lochhead was scheduled in summer 1967 for closure within twelve months and closed in March 1970, when some 156 face workers sought redeployment. ³
• The Wemyss Private Railway of 1901 linked the Lochhead and Hugo pits with a connection to Michael, and Lochhead closed on 27 March 1970, ending the railway's traffic. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Fife Pits: Lochhead (Lady Lilian) Pit, Coaltown of Wemyss — Fife Pits
2. (secondary) Lochhead 1907 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Phillips, J. (2015) The closure of Michael Colliery in 1967 and the politics of deindustrialisation (University of Glasgow) — University of Glasgow (Enlighten)
4. (secondary) Wemyss Private Railway — Wikipedia

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