Southfield Colliery

Location	Shotts, North Lanarkshire — 55.8135, -3.7242 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1920 (sinking)–May 1959
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Shotts Iron Company (1920–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1959)

Overview

The Shotts Iron Company's colliery east of Shotts, being sunk in 1920 and one of the larger pits of the district by nationalisation, with 510 people raising 125,000 tons in 1947. It worked the Main coal and sold blaes as well, and closed in May 1959.

A large black spoil heap rising behind rough brown moorland and dry grass, with a wooden pole carrying wires on the left. — The coal bing of Southfield Colliery in 2021 Jim Smillie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

History

Southfield Colliery lies on the moor east of Shotts, about ten miles north-north-east of Lanark. The Shotts Iron Company sank it about 1920, when the Lists of Mines return 33 people at work on the sinking.

The local papers recorded accidents there between the wars: William Boland, a 56-year-old shotfirer of Stane, was killed while working alone one Sunday night in March 1937, in circumstances that were not established at the time; a miner from Fauldhouse was injured by a roof fall in 1938; and Robert Walker, 45, of Shotts, died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary in July 1939 after a fall of stone.

When the National Coal Board took the colliery over in 1947 it employed 510 people and raised 125,000 tons of gas, household, industrial, manufacturing and steam coal. In 1954 it had 448 people working the Main coal for household and steam use, and was also selling blaes. Southfield closed in May 1959. Its large coal bing still stands on the moor, its profile changed in recent years.

Geology

Lanarkshire coalfield: the Main coal, with blaes sold from the colliery.

Workings

Shafts sunk from about 1920; a large coal bing.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in May 1959.

What remains

A large black coal bing stands on the moor near the site, its profile changing in recent years.

A coal bing.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Fauldhouse Colliery — 0.5 miles (0.9 km) NE, West Lothian
Knowes Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) NE, West Lothian
Fallahill Colliery — 1.6 miles (2.7 km) N, West Lothian
East Benhar Colliery — 1.7 miles (2.8 km) N, West Lothian
Benhar Colliery — 2.0 miles (3.1 km) N, West Lothian

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.

In 1920 the Lists of Mines returned 33 people at Southfield, then being sunk. ¹
Southfield, Shotts, is dated 1920 to May 1959. ²
Southfield Colliery belonged to the Shotts Iron Company in the 1930s. ^3,1
William Boland, a 56-year-old shotfirer, was killed while working alone at Southfield on a Sunday night in March 1937. ³
In 1947 Southfield employed 510 people and raised 125,000 tons. ¹
In 1954 it employed 448, working the Main coal, and also produced blaes. ¹
The coal bing at Southfield Colliery still stands, its profile changed in recent years. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Southfield Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

Owners, employment, output and seam.

View source

Accidents post 1900 (Scottish Mining Website) (reference)

Newspaper reports of accidents in the Shotts district, including Southfield.

View source

NCB Collieries - Scotland (NMRS) (reference)

Opening and closing dates of every colliery the National Coal Board took over in Scotland.

View source

Sources

(primary) Southfield Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Shotts parish accidents post 1900 — Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
(observational) Coal Bing: Southfield Colliery (Geograph 6831371) — Geograph

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