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Arniston Colliery, Gore Pit

Colliery (Period Unassigned)

Site Name Arniston Colliery, Gore Pit

Classification Colliery (Period Unassigned)

Canmore ID 148283

Site Number NT36SW 42.01

NGR NT 3391 6142

NGR Description Centred on mining activity area

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/148283

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Midlothian
  • Parish Newbattle
  • Former Region Lothian
  • Former District Midlothian
  • Former County Midlothian

Archaeology Notes

NT36SW 42.01 3391 6142

ARNISTON Colliery (GORE PIT)

Location: Gorebridge

Previous Owners: Arniston Coal Company

Types of Coal: Gas, House and Steam

Sinking/Production Commenced: 1858

Year Closed: 1962

Average Workforce: 980

Peak Workforce: 990

Peak Year: 1951

Shaft/Mine Details: 2 shafts, Emily (NT36SW 42.00) and Gore (NT36SW 42.01). Gore 214m deep, sunk 1878.

Details in 1948: Output 950 tons per day, 237,500 tons per annum. 964 employees. Norton washer [equipment for the wet cleaning of coal]. Baths, first-aid room, canteen. Electricity from SE Scotland Electricity Board. Report dated 15-07-1948.

Other Details: Arniston Coal Company was established in 1874, and Gore was its first pit, having a rectangular brick-lined shaft 213m deep, completed in 1878. The two pits (Emily and Gore) were subsequently known as Arniston Colliery. Sixty six men died in a fire in 1899. One of the most famous features of the pit was the circular pithead baths at Gore, designed by J A Dempster, completed at a cost of £12,000 in 1936, with facilities for 570 men, including 52 shower cubicles. A re-organsisation was planned for the pit in 1948.

M K Oglethorpe 2006.

Activities

Field Visit (April 2009 - February 2015)

The Borders Railway Project proposals are to reinstate the Newcraighall to Tweedbank section of the former Waverley Line. The reinstated railway line will be approximately 48km long and the majority of the route will use the existing railway embankment.

Several field surveys, archaeological evaluations and standing building surveys were undertaken by CFA Archaeology from April 2009 until February 2015.

CFA Archaeology

References

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