Salterhill
Colliery(S) (19th Century), Miners Row (19th Century), Retting Pond(S) (Post Medieval)
Site Name Salterhill
Classification Colliery(S) (19th Century), Miners Row (19th Century), Retting Pond(S) (Post Medieval)
Alternative Name(s) Airdriemain; Blaquhatstone Colliery
Canmore ID 84093
Site Number NS87SE 20.03
NGR NS 861 717
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/84093
- Council Falkirk
- Parish Slamannan
- Former Region Central
- Former District Falkirk
- Former County Stirlingshire
Field Visit (29 July 1992)
NS87SE 20.03 861 717
The remains of a number of mines are disposed along the course of a railway siding which runs around the E and S sides of the hill to the SE of Balquhatstone Mains farmsteading. At the SW end of the siding, to the NE of Salterhill farmhouse, there are the sites of a group of retting pools and a row of miners cottages.
The siding is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Stirlingshire 1864, sheet xxxv), running ESE from the Slamannan railway for about 500m to a coal pit at NS 8660 7241 (CSW 4458), with a branch running W to the coke kilns at Balquhatstone (NS87SE 20.01), with which the pit was presumably associated. Over the following three decades there was a great expansion of mining to the S of this pit, and to serve these new mines the siding was extended by about 1.3km to run past the farmstead of Airdriemain (NS87SE 20.04) and around the E and S sides of the hill to the S of the original pit, reaching almost as far as Salterhill farmsteading. It had all been abandoned, however, by the date of the 2nd edition of the OS 6-inch map (Stirlingshire 1899, sheet xxxv) which shows the spoil tips of three abandoned mines (NS 8681 7211, CSW 4448; NS 8647 7180, CSW 4460; and NS 8611 7171, CSW 4462) along the course of the dismantled siding (described 'Old Tramway' on the map). Next to the last of these tips there is depicted a terrace of cottages, described 'Salterhill Houses' (NS 8605 7165; CSW 4461). This row was roofless by the time the map was next revised in 1914 (Stirlingshire 1922, sheet xxxv).
The row has now been demolished, but the bings from the adjacent mine survive, one on each side of the siding, the course of which can still be followed. Bings also survive at the other three mines, although most of that at NS 8647 7180 (CSW 4460) has been dug away. At NS 8766 7167 (CSW 4458) (the pit shown on the 1st edition map (ibid)) there is a circular feature at the W end of the bing which may be a horse-engine platform.
There is no longer anything visible of the retting pool depicted on the 1st edition map (ibid) at NS 8608 7172 (CSW 4468). By the date of the second edition (1899) (ibid) it had been largely buried by a spoil tip (CSW 4462), although three small pools are shown along the N edge of the tip.
(CSW 4448, 4458, 4460-2, 4468)
Visted by RCAHMS (SDB, PJD) 29 July 1992
