Montgomeryfield Colliery

Overview

Archibald Kenneth and Sons' colliery at Montgomeryfield in Dreghorn parish, near Irvine, a 75-fathom pit working the Tourha and parrot coals with its own miners' rows. In February 1898 the rope slipped off the drum and four boys fell to their deaths in the cage. Its seams were abandoned in 1938-44; the firm's brickworks beside it outlived the pits.

History

Montgomeryfield Colliery, in Dreghorn parish near Irvine, was the pit of Archibald Kenneth and Sons, coalmasters of Kilwinning; it appears on the map of 1895. Near the pit stood Montgomeryfield Rows, tenanted wholly by its miners, and upwards of 140 men worked there in 1898. The pit was 75 fathoms deep, with two landings: the Tourha coal at 15 fathoms and the parrot or splint coal at the bottom. It had underground connections with an adjoining pit, which served as its escape shaft.

On 24 February 1898 the rope slipped off the drum and four boys fell to their deaths in the cage (see Disasters, below).

No. 1 and No. 2 pits were working in the 1920s. Kenneth's built a large brickworks beside the colliery and its central washery, probably to use the blaes from their bings; the Parrot, Ell, Wee, Major and Five Quarter seams were abandoned between 1938 and 1944, and the brickworks closed in the mid-1970s and was demolished in 1978.

Geology

The Tourha coal at 15 fathoms and the parrot or splint coal at 75 fathoms; abandonment plans also name the Ell, Wee, Major and Five Quarter seams.

Workings

Nos. 1 and 2 pits. No. 1 was 75 fathoms deep, with landings at the Tourha coal (15 fathoms) and the parrot coal at the bottom, a double-decked cage for eight men, and an escape shaft through an adjoining pit with underground connections.

Closure

The colliery's seams were abandoned between 1938 (Ell) and 1944 (Parrot). The brickworks beside it closed in the mid-1970s.

What remains

The brickworks beside the colliery was demolished in 1978 and its site has been built over.

Redevelopment

The site of the Montgomeryfield brickworks has been built over.

Disasters & major incidents

• Montgomeryfield Colliery cage accident, 1898
  24 February 1898 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 4 fatalities
  At about six in the morning of 24 February 1898 four lads were being lowered to the Tourha landing of No. 1 Montgomeryfield Pit, Dreghorn, when coils of the rope slipped off the drum onto a cross beam, which broke. The double-decked cage fell to the bottom, through a newly laid scaffold and into fourteen feet of water, killing all four, two of them brothers.

Recorded claims

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

• Montgomeryfield Colliery belonged to Archibald Kenneth and Sons. ^1,2,3
• The pit was 75 fathoms deep, with landings at the Tourha coal at 15 fathoms and the parrot or splint coal at the bottom. ¹
• Upwards of 140 men were employed in the pit in 1898. ¹
• Nos. 1 and 2 pits were working in 1925. ⁴
• The colliery appears on the map of 1895. ³
• Kenneth's brickworks at Montgomeryfield, probably built to use blaes from their bings, closed about 1975. ^3,5
• The Parrot seam workings were abandoned in 1944. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Montgomeryfield 1898 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Montgomeryfield, No.1, 1908 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry: Montgomeryfield Colliery and Brickworks, Dreghorn — Scottish Brick History
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Montgomeryfield, Nos 1 & 2 Pits, 1925 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (secondary) Trove.scot (Canmore) SC 455056: Irvine, Montgomeryfield Brickworks — Historic Environment Scotland
6. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Montgomeryfield, Parrot seam, abandoned 1944 — British Geological Survey
7. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Montgomeryfield, Ell seam, abandoned 1938 — British Geological Survey
8. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Montgomeryfield, No.1, 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026