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Calderhead 3 And 4 Colliery
Colliery (19th Century) - (20th Century)
Site Name Calderhead 3 And 4 Colliery
Classification Colliery (19th Century) - (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Muiracre Colliery
Canmore ID 82461
Site Number NS86SE 14
NGR NS 8775 6139
NGR Description Centred NS 8775 6139
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/82461
- Council North Lanarkshire
- Parish Shotts (Motherwell)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Motherwell
- Former County Lanarkshire
Field Visit (9 September 1992)
NS86SE 14 8775 6139
Calderhead Colliery was operated by the Shotts Iron Company. Pit No.3 is depicted on the 2nd edition of the OS 6-inch map (Lanarkshire 1899, sheet xiii) on a siding of the NBR Shotts Branch about 500m S of Hartwoodhill Junction. More complex workings are depicted on the revised edition of the OS 6-inch map (Lanarkshire 1921, sheet xiii, resurveyed in 1910) and the mine continued in operation until 1958 (NMRS MS 819). Following closure the site was used as a training centre by the NCB, and the pit buildings survived into the 1980's. All the buildings have now been destroyed, although three large bings remain, and the brick-built pit for the winding mechanism of the conveyor which fed the westernmost bing can still be seen amongst the rubble.
(CSW 4092)
Visited by RCAHMS (SDB) 9 September 1992
Note (2006)
(Location cited as NS 8777 6141). CALDERHEAD 3 and 4 Colliery (also known as MUIRACRE Colliery)
Location: Shotts
Previous Owners: Shotts Iron Company Limited
Types of Coal: House and Steam
Sinking/Production Commenced: c.1850
Year Closed: 1958
Average Workforce: 437
Peak Workforce: 617
Peak Year: 1947
Shaft/Mine Details: 2 shafts, No. 3 75m, and No. 4 138m deep
Details in 1948: Output 490 tons per day, 144,410 tons per annum, longwall working. 396 employees. 3 picking tables, Baum-type washer [mechanical equipment for the wet cleaning of coal]. Baths under construction. Snack canteen available. First-aid services. Electricity (both AC and DC) from Central National Coal Board (NCB) power station at Shotts. Report dated 28-07-1948.
Other Details: also known as Muiracre.
M K Oglethorpe 2006.
