Springhill Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Springside, near Kilmarnock, whose numbered pits Archibald Finnie and Son worked until they abandoned it, after which J. and R. Howie took it over. On 18 July 1917 firedamp left to gather in an exploratory drift in No. 1 Cauldhame Pit exploded at a naked light, killing four; the inspector condemned the management.

History

Springhill Colliery lay at Springside, in Dreghorn parish about four miles from Kilmarnock, where Springhill Pits Nos. 1, 2 and 4 and the Cauldhame pit stood near Cauldhame farm, linked by mineral lines; the bing of Springhill No. 3 still lies close to the village. Archibald Finnie and Son of Kilmarnock worked it in the 1900s: a furnaceman fell down the open shaft of No. 4 in 1902, and in May 1912 debris from an old opening fifty fathoms up the shaft fell on a cage and killed two men.

When Finnie gave up the workings, J. and R. Howie Ltd, coalmasters of Hurlford, took possession. To prove an unworked area of the Major coal, they drove a stone drift up from the Main coal, 66 feet below, ventilated by a hand-turned fan. The Major coal proved poor and was abandoned on 14 July 1917. Gas gathered in the drift whenever the fan stood, and four days later it exploded at a naked light, killing four men (see Disasters, below). The Acting Chief Inspector, W. Walker, found the management 'extremely lax': naked lights in a gassy seam, gunpowder used where only permitted explosives were allowed, and firemen's reports not kept.

Geology

The Main coal and, 66 feet above it, the Major coal, which dipped at one in twenty and was of doubtful quality; firedamp was found in the Major workings week after week in 1917.

Workings

Several numbered pits (Springhill Nos. 1 to 4) and No. 1 Cauldhame Pit. In 1916-17 a stone drift was driven up from the Main coal at about one in four and a half for 185 feet to the Major coal, ventilated by a 10-inch hand-driven Sirocco fan blowing through wooden pipes.

Closure

Unknown. Finnie had abandoned the workings before Howie took over; deaths at Springhill are recorded until 1924.

What remains

The waste bing of Springhill No. 3 pit still lies close to Springside; the mineral lines that served the pits have been lifted.

The bing of Springhill No. 3 pit and a few embankments of the former mineral lines.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Springhill Colliery explosion, 1917
  18 July 1917 · Explosion · 4 fatalities
  At about 7.30 on the morning of 18 July 1917 four men walked up the stone drift to the abandoned Major coal workings of No. 1 Cauldhame Pit, Springhill Colliery, at Springside near Kilmarnock, to lift the last rails. The fireman went first with a naked light. Gas had gathered at the top of the drift, and it exploded; all four were badly burned and died in Kilmarnock Infirmary over the next five days.

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery was originally worked by A. Finnie and Son of Kilmarnock; J. and R. Howie Ltd obtained it after Finnie abandoned it. ¹
• Springhill Nos. 2 and 4 pits belonged to Archibald Finnie and Son in 1902-1906. ^2,3
• On 30 May 1912 debris falling down the shaft onto a cage killed two men. ⁴
• On 18 July 1917 an explosion of firedamp in No. 1 Cauldhame Pit killed four men. ^1,5,6
• J. and R. Howie owned No. 1 Cauldhame Pit in 1917. ^1,5
• Springhill Pits Nos. 1, 2 and 4 and the Cauldhame pit stood near Springside, and the bing of No. 3 survives. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Springhill 1917 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Springhill, No.4 Pit, 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Springhill, No.2 Pit, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Springhill, 1912 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Cauldhame, No.1 Pit, 1917 (Thomas Walker) — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Springhill, Cauldhame Pit, 1917 — Northern Mine Research Society
7. (secondary) Wikipedia: Springside, North Ayrshire — Wikipedia

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