Mossbeath Colliery

Overview

A two-shaft Cowdenbeath colliery sunk from 1892, where No. 2 reached the Dunfermline Splint at 190 fathoms, then the deepest shaft in Fife; an underground fire closed it in March 1945, a shaft served as a National Coal Board training pit until about 1961, and its steel headgear went to the Brora pit.

History

Mossbeath Colliery lay south-west of Cowdenbeath, about half a mile from Cowdenbeath No. 7 Pit. No. 1 shaft, 14 by 6 feet, was sunk about 1892, and No. 2, 10 feet square, in 1895-96, reaching the Dunfermline Splint at 190 fathoms; it was then the deepest shaft in Fife, soon passed by Kirkford (No. 10) and the Mary at Lochore. Canmore gives 1895 for the start of production. The Cowdenbeath Coal Company opened it, and RAILSCOT records a short mineral railway running south-east to the 1890 Kelty to Cowdenbeath line at Mossbeath Colliery Sidings, with later links north to the Cowdenbeath Colliery lines and south to the Hill of Beath lines and washery. The Fife Coal Company took it over in 1896.

In October 1895 the ascending cage was drawn over the pulley wheels, smashing it completely and partly destroying the engine house. Electricity came to the colliery in 1925, and in 1931 it was reorganised for single-shaft working with connections to Nos. 7 and 10 for ventilation and drainage. Employment was 299 underground and 64 on the surface in 1904, 360 and 65 in 1911, 372 and 159 in 1920, 230 and 54 in 1928 and 165 and 63 in 1945. W. E. Richardson was manager from December 1905, John Spence from November 1913, Alexander Thomson from 1918 and Charles Hynd in the early 1920s.

The Glassee coal here was 7 ft thick and the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot were worked as a single seam of 9 to 13 ft. The Swallowdrum, Upper and Lower Jersey, Fourteen Feet, Rough, Mynheer, Diamond, Little Splint, Seven Feet and Cardenden Smithy coals are also recorded. An underground fire in March 1945 closed the colliery as a production unit, but a shaft and the pit-bottom area were kept open as a National Coal Board training centre, which closed about 1958 to 1961.

The steel headgear was dismantled and taken north in 1961 to replace the wooden one at the Brora pit in Sutherland. The site has been landscaped: a church stands at the eastern end of Sinclair Drive, with housing and a recreation ground. Fatal accidents reported include Peter Orr, 17, killed by a roof fall in June 1919, Robert Innes in July 1921 and Peter Hogg, caught by a coal-cutting machine, in May 1922.

Geology

Coal of the Cowdenbeath-Lochore syncline. The Glassee was 7 ft, the Lochgelly Splint and Parrot 9 to 13 ft as one seam, the Fourteen Feet in layers of 2 ft 8 in and 5 ft, the Rough in five layers of 7 in to 2 ft 3 in, and the Swallowdrum 4 ft 7 in at 127 fathoms in No. 2 Pit; the Bowesbank coal was 2 ft 4 in some 16 fathoms above the Index Limestone.

Workings

Two shafts, No. 1 of 14 by 6 feet and No. 2 of 10 feet square, the latter 190 fathoms deep, worked together until 1931, after which the colliery worked from one shaft with connections to Cowdenbeath Nos. 7 and 10 for ventilation and drainage; Canmore notes the two shafts were reorganised in the 1930s and linked to No. 10.

Closure

An underground fire closed the colliery as a production unit in March 1945; one shaft and the pit-bottom area were kept for the National Coal Board's training centre, which closed between about 1958 and 1961.

What remains

The site is occupied by a church, housing and a recreation ground.

Redevelopment

The site was landscaped and built over with a housing scheme, a church and an all-weather recreation area.

Related mines

• Kirkford Colliery — Roads were driven from Kirkford to Mossbeath and the two pits shared ventilation and drainage with Cowdenbeath No. 7, as their joint abandonment plans show.

Recorded claims

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

• Mossbeath No. 1 shaft was sunk about 1892 and No. 2 in 1895-96, reaching the Dunfermline Splint at 190 fathoms, the deepest shaft in Fife at the time. ¹
• Canmore gives 1895 for the start of production at Mossbeath, closure before 1947 and two shafts reorganised in the 1930s and linked to Cowdenbeath No. 10. ²
• The Cowdenbeath Coal Company opened Mossbeath about 1895 and the Fife Coal Company held it from 1896, followed by the National Coal Board. ^1,3
• In October 1895 the ascending cage was drawn over the pulley wheels, smashing the cage and partly destroying the engine house. ¹
• Employment was 299 underground and 64 on the surface in 1904, 360 and 65 in 1911, 372 and 159 in 1920, 230 and 54 in 1928 and 165 and 63 in 1945. ¹
• An underground fire closed Mossbeath as a production unit in March 1945, and a shaft was kept as a National Coal Board training centre until between about 1958 and 1961. ^1,2
• Mossbeath's steel headgear was dismantled and taken north in 1961 to replace the wooden one at the Brora pit in Sutherland. ¹
• A short mineral railway joined Mossbeath to the Kelty to Cowdenbeath line at Mossbeath Colliery Sidings, with later links to the Cowdenbeath Colliery lines and the Hill of Beath lines and washery. ³
• Fatal accidents reported at Mossbeath include Peter Orr, aged 17, in June 1919, Robert Innes in July 1921, Peter Hogg in May 1922 and David Burt in December 1926. ⁴
• The British Geological Survey catalogues an abandonment plan titled Foulford No 1, Mossbeath, Cowdenbeath No 7. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Fife Pits: Mossbeath Colliery, Cowdenbeath — Fife Pits
2. (secondary) Mossbeath Colliery (Canmore) — Canmore (Historic Environment Scotland)
3. (secondary) RAILSCOT: Mossbeath Colliery — RAILSCOT
4. (secondary) Accidents post-1915 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plans: FOULFORD NO 1, MOSSBEATH, COWDENBEATH NO 7 — British Geological Survey

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