Polmaise Colliery

Overview

A Stirlingshire village pit sunk from 1904 whose closure announcement over disputed 'geological faults' triggered the first walkout of the 1984-85 miners' strike — Fallin was the first colliery in Britain out, and the last back.

History

Polmaise Colliery was developed by Archibald Russell Ltd, with the village of Fallin created specifically to house its workforce when the pit was sunk in 1904 — shafts Nos. 1 and 2 that January, Nos. 3 and 4 from that August, with the No. 3/4 pit producing coal by April 1906. Often among the most productive and profitable pits in the Scottish coalfield, Polmaise 3 and 4 went on to become Stirling's last operational colliery and the last village pit working anywhere in Scotland. The National Coal Board announced its proposal to close Polmaise on 13 December 1983, and in January 1984 cited 'geological faults' and a lack of market for its coal, despite £15.8 million having just been spent on a redevelopment programme that had left the colliery nearly ready to resume full production. The workforce and union disputed the geological justification publicly, and Polmaise became the first colliery in the whole of Britain to strike over its closure, beginning the 56-week national miners' strike of 1984-85 — Fallin's miners were first out and the last to return when the strike ended. The colliery nonetheless survived the strike's end and continued working for a further two years before British Coal finally closed it on 15 July 1987, with 112 workers made redundant.

Workings

Four shafts sunk 1904, Nos. 1 and 2 in January and Nos. 3 and 4 from August, with the No. 3/4 pit in production by April 1906.

Closure

Closure announced December 1983 over disputed 'geological faults'; the colliery survived the 1984-85 strike but finally closed on 15 July 1987, with 112 redundancies.

What remains

No specific present-day surface condition was established from the sources checked for this pass.

No specific surviving colliery structures were established from the sources checked for this pass.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• Polmaise Colliery was developed by Archibald Russell Ltd, with the village of Fallin created to house its workforce; shafts Nos. 1 and 2 were sunk in January 1904, Nos. 3 and 4 from August 1904, in production by April 1906. ^1,2
• The NCB announced its proposal to close Polmaise on 13 December 1983 and in January 1984 cited 'geological faults' and a lack of market for its coal, despite £15.8 million recently spent on redevelopment; the workforce and union publicly disputed the geological justification. ²
• Polmaise became the first colliery in Britain to strike over its closure, beginning the 56-week national miners' strike of 1984-85; Fallin's miners were first out and the last to return when the strike ended. ²
• The colliery survived the strike's end and continued working for a further two years before British Coal finally closed it on 15 July 1987, with 112 workers made redundant. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) 30th Anniversary of the Polmaise Colliery Closure — The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
2. (secondary) 01. Polmaise, a village pit — Polmaise: the fight for a pit

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026