Townhill Colliery

Overview

The Dunfermline town coal pits north of the burgh, on minerals leased from the Burgh of Dunfermline for a royalty, which grew into the Townhill Coal Company's Nos. 5 to 9 pits; the colliery closed in April 1925, after which the Lilliehill mines kept a little coal going.

History

The Dunfermline 'town coal pits', which became Townhill Colliery, lay north of the burgh, on minerals belonging to the Burgh of Dunfermline that were leased to several individuals and companies over centuries. Lessees paid the town a royalty of one tenth a ton while the burgesses could buy coal below the retail price, which cost the burgh £400 in 1817, more than the rent. A small colliery at Townhill with its colliers' houses and coal bearers was advertised for sale at £500 in 1770. In 1810 the engineer Robert Bald described a pit of 40 fathoms drained by a steam engine with a 40-inch cylinder, and in 1825 the colliery was almost abandoned because the council would not agree to fund its development.

In 1840 A. F. Hopper managed Townhill and Appin collieries, employing 84 people including 33 children and young persons. Andrew Christie was lessee from 1851 to 1861, employing 144 and producing about 40,000 tons in 1858, and in 1859 a new pit, probably No. 6, was being sunk to the splint coal. The Townhill Coal Company ran the collieries from 1869: J. Stevenson managed in 1870-72, George Hogg in 1873-74, W. Moody in 1875-76 and James Wyllie from 1877 to 1891, working Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the Donald (No. 9) pit and a day mine. In 1873 No. 6 had a downcast of 372 feet and an upcast of 270.

James Strachan managed in 1893-98, when 261 men worked underground and 55 on the surface (1896). A new Townhill Colliery Company Ltd under Anthony Watson leased the burgh minerals in 1897; No. 8 closed in 1898 and No. 6 was refitted and reopened in 1899. The West of Fife Coal Company took over in 1900, employing 209 underground and 64 on the surface in 1902 and 303 and 65 in 1904, and a boiler explosion at No. 6 caused a death in 1907. Townhill (Dunfermline) Colliery Ltd was formed in March 1911, with 53 underground in 1911, 176 in 1918 and 251 in 1920. The colliery closed in April 1925, though some redevelopment of the Lilliehill mines about 1930 kept coal working in the area for a few years.

Geology

Coal of the Dunfermline area. Seams named in the abandonment plans and returns include the Splint, Five Feet, Upper and Lower Eight Feet, Swallowdrum, Cairncubie, Ell, Six Feet, Bright, Fourteen Feet and Little Splint; No. 7 worked the Rough coal at 15 fathoms, the Kelty Main at 25 and the Lower Eight Feet at 44.

Workings

Several pits over its life: Townhill Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the Donald (No. 9) pit, a day mine and later the Lilliehill mines; No. 6 had a downcast of 372 feet and an upcast of 270 in 1873 and No. 7 a downcast of 276 feet and an upcast of 156. Earlier small pits included Appin, Hutton, Loch, March, Muir, Planting and Spowart.

Closure

Townhill Colliery closed in April 1925; some redevelopment of the Lilliehill mines about 1930 extended coal working in the area for a few years.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Muircockhall Colliery — Both worked the burgh of Dunfermline's minerals at Townhill, the West of Fife Coal Company ran both, and the Townhill mineral field was worked 'at every point' in the 1870s.

Recorded claims

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

• The minerals at Townhill belonged to the Burgh of Dunfermline and were leased to several individuals and companies, lessees paying the town a royalty of one tenth a ton. ¹
• In 1770 a small colliery at Townhill was advertised for sale at £500, and in 1810 Robert Bald described a 40-fathom pit drained by a steam engine with a 40-inch cylinder. ¹
• Andrew Christie was lessee of Townhill and Whitefield from 1851 to 1861; in 1858 the colliery employed 144 people and produced about 40,000 tons. ¹
• The Townhill Coal Company worked Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 and the Donald pit from 1869, with James Wyllie as manager from 1877 to 1891 and James Strachan from 1893 to 1898. ¹
• The West of Fife Coal Company was formed in 1900 to work the Townhill minerals and the Saline Valley Colliery. ¹
• Employment at Townhill was 261 underground and 55 on the surface in 1896, 209 and 64 in 1902, 303 and 65 in 1904, 176 and 38 in 1918 and 251 and 45 in 1920. ¹
• Townhill Colliery closed in April 1925, and redevelopment of the Lilliehill mines about 1930 extended coal working in the area for a few years. ¹
• Canmore records a coal mine at NT 103 898, Townhill Colliery Pit Number 6, first depicted on the Ordnance Survey second edition of 1896. ²
• Fatal accidents reported at Townhill include John Allan in No. 6 Pit in 1872, William Anderson in No. 7 Pit in 1895, Thomas Michie in 1923 and Christopher Muir in 1923. ^3,4

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Fife Pits: Townhill Colliery — Fife Pits
2. (secondary) Dunfermline, Townhill, Townhill Colliery, Pit Number 6 (Canmore) — Canmore (Historic Environment Scotland)
3. (secondary) Fife Accidents 1871 to 1900 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website
4. (secondary) Fife Accidents 1915-1925 (Scottish Mining Website) — Scottish Mining Website

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026