Thinacres Mine

Overview

A small surface mine at Thinacres, near Quarter and Larkhall, opened by the Overwood Coal Company in 1938 or 1939 on ground mined since the 1870s. It passed to the Coal Board and worked until May 1963 with about ninety men.

History

Small mines were opened along the road between Glassford and Quarter, at Thinacre, Knowetop and Darngaber, in the 1870s, perhaps to replace the older pits nearer Quarter. Thinacres Mine, a surface mine in the parish of Hamilton, was opened by the Overwood Coal Company, which also worked Overwood at Stonehouse; the national record dates it from 1939 and the Coal Board's list from 1938.

It raised steam and house coal by longwall working. In 1949 it produced 60 tons a day with 41 employees, graded by a shaker riddle, with no washer, baths, canteen or medical facilities. The Thinacre and Knowetop mines are said locally to have been nationalised in 1947, while the national record has Thinacres transferred to the National Coal Board in 1949. The workforce grew to a peak of 99 in 1956 and averaged 91. The Upper and Lower Drumgray workings were abandoned when the mine closed in May 1963.

Geology

Lanarkshire coalfield: the Upper and Lower Drumgray coals; steam and house coal.

Workings

A surface mine worked longwall, with a shaker riddle for screening; earlier small mines at Thinacre from the 1870s.

Closure

Closed in May 1963, the date of the abandonment plans of its Upper and Lower Drumgray workings.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Thinacres Mine, Overwood Coal Company, began production in 1939 and closed in 1963. (disputed) ¹
• Thinacres, Larkhall, is dated 1938 to May 1963. (disputed) ²
• The Knowetop and Thinacre mines were nationalised in 1947. (disputed) ³
• Thinacres was transferred to the National Coal Board in 1949. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Thinacres Mine, Overwood Coal Company, began production in 1939 and closed in 1963. (disputed) ¹
• Thinacres, Larkhall, is dated 1938 to May 1963. (disputed) ²
• In 1949 it produced 60 tons a day by longwall working with 41 employees, graded by a shaker riddle, with no washer, baths or canteen. ¹
• Thinacres was a mine of the Overwood Coal Company. ^3,1
• Small mines were developed at Thinacre, Knowetop and Darngaber along the Glassford to Quarter road in the 1870s. ³
• The Knowetop and Thinacre mines were nationalised in 1947. (disputed) ³
• Thinacres was transferred to the National Coal Board in 1949. (disputed) ¹
• Its workforce averaged 91 and peaked at 99 in 1956. ¹
• Thinacres' Lower Drumgray workings were abandoned in 1963. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Thinacres Mine (NRHE 132409) — Historic Environment Scotland (trove.scot, formerly Canmore)
2. (secondary) NCB Collieries - Scotland (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Mining — Stonehouse Heritage
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: Thinacres, Lower Drumgray, abandoned 1963 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

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