When we think of Coal Mining in Blantyre, we traditionally think of a very male orientated industry, but did you know at one time there were occasions where females where employed down in the depths of the pits or at the pithead, even in Blantyre! In December 1903, the annual conference of the Miner’s Federation […]
On Tuesday 23rd October 1877, the day after the Blantyre Pit Disaster, the Glasgow Herald newspaper opened their many columns, with the following words: Possibly the greatest calamity which has ever occurred in the history of mining operations in Scotland happened in our near neighbourhood yesterday. Lanarkshire has been well described as the “black country” of […]
This article explores three males of the same family who died in the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877. It’s thought James Brown and his wife Elizabeth Mackie came to Blantyre with their family between 1875 and 1877. They took up residence at 11 McAlpines Land on the north side of Glasgow Road and should not […]
I have to admit being quite shocked by this next story, hearing something that I didn’t previously quite fully appreciate. I perhaps naively thought that workers, especially miners who were so used to working in the dark depths, would look forward to the Glasgow Fair holiday, which started out as a long weekend. A time […]
One of my favourite photos, if only as one of my family appears in it! This is of course the photo of the Pit Disaster rescuers in 1877. The men have been presented with a large bible for their valiant efforts in descending into the pit following the disaster. The term “rescuer” is perhaps misleading […]
By the evening of Monday 22nd October 1877, the scenes at the pithead at number 3, were such that would leave a deep impression on anybody who witnessed them. By contrast to the rain and clouds so prevalent during the daytime rescue attempts, when the moon arose, it illuminated everything it seemed in the District. […]
It seems barbaric to us now, but it’s easy to forget that there were ponies being used in the mines and they too were victims of the Blantyre Pit Disaster. Such animals had underground stables, living life under the ground and would surely have been blinded by sunlight if they ever came up. Looking after […]