Kingshill No.3 Colliery

NS85SE 36 8689 5434

For linked Allanton Colliery (NS 8560 5706), see NS85NE 27.00. For related spoil heap and mineral tramway (NS 8560 5206 to 8690 5433), see NS85NE 27.02.

The colliery buildings were still extant in 1975, but were removed shortly afterwards (OS 1:10,000 map, 1985). The site was not visited in the course of survey.

(CSW 3310).

Information from RCAHMS (SPH, IF), 26 January 1995.

MS/731/11

(Location cited as NS 8690 5434). KINGSHILL 3 Colliery

Location: south-east of Newmains, Allanton Moor

Previous Owners: National Coal Board

Types of Coal: Coking, House and Steam

Sinking Commenced: 1946-50

Production Commenced: 1951

Year Closed: 1974

Year Abandoned: 1975

Average Workforce: 600

Peak Workforce: 769

Peak Year: 1958

Shaft/Mine Details: Single new shaft, 234m deep, 4.57m diameter, concrete lined, designed to wind 1200 tons per shift, driven by electric 550hp winder with 'bi-cylindro' drum.

Other Details: The first major National Coal Board (NCB) sinking in Scotland at a time when coking coal was desperately needed, and the first to wind large-capacity mine cars (2.5 ton) to the surface. It was designed to take half of Kingshill 1's production (NS85NE 27.00) to the surface, but the coal was then sent by endless-rope tramway across the moor to be washed at Kingshill No. 1.

M K Oglethorpe 2006.

The website text produced for Kingshill No. 3 webpages on the Forest Heritage Scotland website (www.forestheritagescotland.com).

Introduction: Kingshill's coal mine

On the edge of Kingshill Forest, there are the remains of an old colliery, known as Kingshill No.3.

Sunk in 1946 it was the first major coal mine shaft constructed by the newly appointed National Coal Board (NCB) in Scotland.

Kingshill No. 3 joined the underground mines of the earlier Kingshill No 1 colliery shaft, located further north, near Allerton. It provided a second route for bringing coal to the surface, improving the speed of operations. World War II had just ended and coal was vital to the reconstruction of war torn Britain.

The benefits of this second shaft were dampened by the need to then transport the coal from Kingshill No. 3 to No.1 to be washed and processed. This involved a long tramway track to ferry the coal between the two sites.

The shaft, which was 24 metres deep, finally opened in 1951 and remained in use until 1974. At its peak, in 1958, it employed 769 staff. Little remains today of this once busy industry; however, the ruins of a building and you can see the line of the old tramway at the edge of Kingshill Forest.

CFA were asked to consider the cultural heritage implications of the proposed replacement of an electrical tower sealing end on an existing tower just west of Kingshill substation, South Lanarkshire (NS 86770 654311). The work will involve the erection of scaffolding around the tower and laying of a temporary track to the tower from the sub-station road. No ground breaking works will be required.

The work required to replace the sealing ends on an existing tower has been assessed against the cultural heritage baseline. It is considered that the development conforms to Local and National Policy relating to the cultural heritage resource.

CFA Archaeology (M. Hastie, S. Werner, T. Neighbour) 2012