Newfield Colliery

Also known as	Newfield Nos. 1, 2 and 3
Location	Near Symington, parish of Dundonald, South Ayrshire — 55.5776, -4.5506 (exact)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1940 (reopened 1948)–August 1956
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	A. Kenneth and Sons Ltd (1940–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1956)

Overview

A. Kenneth and Sons' colliery near Symington, in the parish of Dundonald, Ayrshire, sunk in 1940. Reopened as a surface mine by the National Coal Board in 1948, it employed up to 144 men and closed in 1956.

History

Newfield Colliery lay near Symington, by Kilmarnock, in the parish of Dundonald. It was sunk in 1940 by A. Kenneth and Sons Ltd and worked as Newfield Nos. 1, 2 and 3. At nationalisation in 1947 the three pits employed 129 people, 102 below ground, and raised 48,000 tons of household and industrial coal.

The National Coal Board reopened Newfield in 1948 as a surface mine. That year it produced 175 tons a day, 43,750 tons a year, of house coal by stoop and room working with 135 employees. It had a single screen for dry coal, and its coal went to Montgomeryfield to be washed; there were no baths, canteen or medical services, and its electricity came from the public supply. The workforce peaked at 144 in 1952 and averaged 126 over the mine's life. Newfield closed in August 1956.

Geology

Ayrshire coalfield: house coal.

Workings

Newfield Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (1940); reopened as a surface mine in 1948, worked stoop and room; coal washed at Montgomeryfield.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in August 1956.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Caprington Colliery — 1.5 miles (2.4 km) E, East Ayrshire
Annandale Colliery — 2.2 miles (3.5 km) N, East Ayrshire
Portland Colliery — 4.3 miles (6.9 km) NE, East Ayrshire
Warrix Colliery — 4.5 miles (7.2 km) NW, North Ayrshire
Auchincruive Colliery — 5.6 miles (8.9 km) S

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

Newfield Colliery, A. Kenneth and Sons Ltd, began production in 1940 and closed in 1956; it was reopened as a surface mine in 1948. ¹
Newfield, Dundonald, is dated 1940 to August 1956. ²
In 1947 Newfield Nos. 1, 2 and 3 employed 129 people and raised 48,000 tons of household and industrial coal. ³
In 1948 it produced 175 tons a day by stoop and room working with 135 employees, its coal washed at Montgomeryfield. ¹
Its workforce averaged 126 and peaked at 144 in 1952. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Newfield Colliery (trove.scot) (reference)

The national record of the colliery and its 1948 details.

View source

Newfield Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

The colliery's 1947 workforce and output.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Newfield Colliery (NRHE 130738) — Historic Environment Scotland (trove.scot, formerly Canmore)
(secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Newfield Colliery (AYR) — Durham Mining Museum

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