Archaeology Notes

Event ID 782441

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/782441

NT37SW 234 3165 7185.

(Location cited as NT 3177 7181). NEWCRAIGHALL (also known as THE KLONDYKE)

Location: Portobello

Previous Owners: Benhar Coal Company, Niddrie and Benhar Coal Company from 1882

Types of Coal: House and Manufacturing, and shale

Sinking/Production Commenced: 1897

Year Closed: 1968

Year Abandoned: 1970

Average Workforce: 760

Peak Workforce: 810

Peak Year: 1950

Shaft/Mine Details: 2 surface mines in 1897. By 1948, 1 shaft (downcast, 4.88m diameter, 249m deep, sunk in 1910), 1 incline (1 in 4, 207m, 14.88m by 7.44m, direct rope haulage).

Details in 1948: Output 900 tons per day, 225,000 tons per annum. 686 employees. Simon Carves Baum-type washer. Baths and canteen (opened 1938, for 960 men), first-aid room, ambulance. Electricity bought from SE Scotland Electricity Board. Report dated 15-07-1948.

Other Details: Also known as the Klondyke. Double shifts introduced in 1959 because of high demand for coal, but in 1962 attempts at improved underground mechanisation failed. In 1967, prior to closure, average daily output through longwall working was 700 tons. Surface buildings demolished and site subsequently occupied by a pub and a hotel.

M K Oglethorpe 2006.