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Comrie Colliery (No.1 Shaft)

Loch Kinneddar, N of Blairhall, Fife.

Mine (Coal, Blaes), 1936-1986.

An enormous deep mine complex that initially wrought the Jersey / Diamond coal seams & later the Lochgelly Splint Coal using the long/short-wall method. Initially operated by the Fife Coal Co. Ltd, & later the NCB from 1947. In 1948 the colliery had an output of 1,600 tonnes of coal per day (425,000 per annum) & a workforce of ca. 1,000 (average of 1,250 over lifetime of mine). The unfilled No.1 shaft has been capped with the wider site having been re-landscaped. See mine plans (in refs) for detailed layout / extent.

The complex was divided into different segments connected by extensive road tunnels. A straight line from its SE to NW extremities measures approx 6.7km (4.2 miles), although the combined length of all passages will be exceptionally longer. The 'Northern Mines' area was the most extensive & measured ca. 5.7km from Balgonar in the east [NT 0216 9367] (N of Saline) to a point beyond the A977 road at ~[NS 9649 9461] (1.4km NE of Forestmill). The western part of this northern area was later mined in opencast fashion at Meadowhill, the partially-flooded scars of which are obvious on satellite imagery just E of Forestmill. The No.1 shaft was located in the SE area of workings which extended S to a point beside Blairhall Primary School at ~[NT 0063 8970], & E to Blairsgreen at [NT 0223 9114] (S of Saline).

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"The colliery mostly produced coal for use in electricity generation, while also contributing coal to industrial and domestic markets. The shafts and immediate roadways were completed and lined with concrete... Comrie Colliery was decommissioned in 1986, including the removal of most of the colliery buildings and surface mining infrastructure, and the sites of two mine shafts were closed off and capped. The remaining rock and building waste were flattened across the original ground level, creating a raised surface of made ground across much of the site.

The two mine shafts at the Comrie Colliery are cylindrical, concrete lined, and were designed to carry personnel and coal to and from the surface. From abandonment plans, Shaft No. 1 (grid reference 300529, 690999) is 6.1 m in diameter and was sunk to a depth of 419 m... Shaft No. 2 (grid reference 300639, 690939) has a diameter of 6.7 m and was sunk to a depth of 397 m

The No. 1 shaft was used to wind skips (large, open top containers) of coal from a depth of 390 m to the surface. There were two skips within the No. 1 shaft, measuring 3.17 m long by 0.85 m wide. The location of these skips today is uncertain. The No. 2 shaft was used for taking materials and men into the mine down to the loading level of 380 m below ground level (BGL). The two shafts, roughly 100 m apart at ground level and with at least 152-182 m of roadway between them at depth, are connected underground by a series of roadways" [Whittington et al. 2025]

No.1. Shaft treatment - Reinforced octagonal concrete cap: 12 200 mm in diameter, 760 mm thick. No backfill. Rock head, 4000 mm from surface (c. 1986); c. 7 m from the current ground level"

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"Other Details: At the time of construction, Comrie was the new showpiece pit of the Fife Coal Company, and was described in detail in The Layout and Equipment of Comrie Colliery in Fifeshire by William Reid, Inst. of Mining Engineers, Cardiff, 18-5-1939. Important features included the use of forced-fan ventilation (unusual at the time), and of skip-winding for raising coal from the pit bottom. The skips were brought in from Germany, and one week before the outbreak of World War II, the German engineers responsible for their installation were called home with the job unfinished. Unusual features included the ornamental fountain and pond at the heart of the surface arrangement, the real purpose of which was to provide a cooling system for Shaft No. 2's braking system. Underground transport was fully mechanised, with locomotive haulage and belt conveyors. Surface facilities included a Baum-type washer, and an areial ropeway to the bing. Scottish Rexco established a smokeless fuel plant at Comrie in 1964. In 1983, 75% of the mine's output was sold to the South of Scotland Electricity Board." [Oglethorpe, 2006]

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: Given coordinates are for No.1 shaft, derived from BGS GeoIndex.

The colliery was served by the Kinneddar Branch of the North British Railway (see OS maps of 1962).

Whilst both shafts & the majority of the workings are within Fife, parts of the complex extend into Clackmannanshire where the Meadowhill Opencast Coal Site is located.

Comrie Development Co. Ltd has pitched a major development project at Comrie Colliery with the aim of transforming the extensive derelict site into a leisure and tourism centre.

Hydrographic Feeds: None

Hydrographic Resurgences: None