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Cowdenbeath No.7 Pit

Cowdenbeath, Fife.

Mine (ironstone, later coal), 19th Century.

Extensive ironstone workings in conjunction with the neighbouring Cowdenbeath No.8 pit (NT 1635 9170), excavating the Lochgelly Blackband Ironstone. According to the abandonment plan (see refs), the complex is separated into northern and southern sections by an E-W trending rockwall that is breached near its middle by a connecting passage. The easternmost area (in N section) comprises a series of long parallel passages which branch off the E side of a SE-trending tunnel. These extend under Cowdenbeath High Street, almost meeting the works of Cowdenbeath No.4 pit. The southern section extends below most (if not all) of the grounds of Central Park stadium with a similar passage layout to above.

After abandonment of the ironstone workings in 1871, the No.7 pit acted as a ventilation shaft for the Cowdenbeath Colliery, whilst No.8 was used for pumping and downcast. Cowdenbeath Colliery continued to 1960 when it closed under the ownership of the NCB.

Both the sites of No.7 & No.8 pits are now buried below recreational parkland to the N of Central Park stadium. The No.7 shaft, that is adjacent to the leisure centre, has been treated.

Significant subsidence of the town's High Street suggests that much of the complex has probably collapsed, particularly on its E side (see excerpt below).

"Whilst for the main part Cowdenbeath is fairly level, there are significant portions of the town which have succumbed to subsidence as a result of the network of mineshafts and tunnels underlying the town. Notably, there are photographs of Cowdenbeath High Street published in Stenlake Publications which depict Cowdenbeath High Street circa 1900, and which shows a flat High Street in which it is possible to view its entire length from north to south under the overarching railway bridge. This feat is impossible today, as the subsidence on the High Street has been so great that surface is no longer flat and the railway bridge now obscures the view from one end to the other." [Wikishire]

Alternative Names: Cowdenbeath Colliery No.7

Notes: Operated by the Fife Coal Company Ltd, abandoned 1871. The absence of any features on the 1st Ed. OS map suggests that the pit post-dates 1854. Railscot states it was sunk in 1860 by the Cowdenbeath Coal Co.

Geological map shows label of "LO. BB. at 26 1/2 fms" (Lochgelly Blackband Ironstone at 49m). The given depth is a minimum.

8 fig. coordinates are for the former head of No.7 pit, determined using OS georef' tool (2nd Ed. 25" map).