Alternative Names Machrihanish Coalfield
Site type COLLIERY
Canmore ID 103343
Site Number NR62SE 29
NGR NR 6505 2069
Council ARGYLL AND BUTE
Parish CAMPBELTOWN
Former Region STRATHCLYDE
Former District ARGYLL AND BUTE
Former County ARGYLL

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Archaeological Notes

NR66SE 29 centred 6505 2069

For associated light railway, see under Campbeltown and Machrihanish Railway.

ARGYLL Colliery (also known as MACHRIHANISH)
Location: Machrihanish, nr Campbeltown
Previous Owners: Glasgow Iron and Steel Company Limited
Types of Coal: Steam
Sinking/Production Commenced: 1946, production in 1950
Year Closed: 1967
Average Workforce:168
Peak Workforce: 245
Peak Year: 1953
Shaft/Mine Details: 2 surface mines. Main mine struck coal at 365m (1 in 4). Upcast mine at 177m, inclination 1 in 2.5.
Details in 1949: Output 60 tons per day, 15,000 tons per annum. 125 employees. Temporary cart screen. No washer. No baths. Small 'packed-lunch' canteen. No medical services. All electricity bought from North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Report dated 15-06-1949.
Other Details: Pithead baths were opened on 15 January 1953. Supplied power stations in Northern Ireland, production peaking at 500 tons per day. Coal was taken to the harbour by a narrow-gauge railway. Underground fires caused a two-month stoppage on 18 September 1958, and again in 1960.
M K Oglethorpe 2006.

Oglethorpe, M K (2006) Scottish Collieries an inventory of the Scottish coal industry in the nationalised era, Edinburgh
Page(s): 63 Held at RCAHMS J.5.5.OGL

Ritchie and Harman, [J N] G and M (1996) Argyll and the Western Isles, Exploring Scotland's Heritage series, ed. by Anne Ritchie Edinburgh
Page(s): 65, 67 Held at RCAHMS A.1.4.HER