In mid-September 1892, miners at William Dixon’s Pits in Blantyre faced a three-day work week due to a Cholera outbreak, leading to reduced wages. Precautions impacted trade and demand, affecting miners and families significantly. The situation parallels Covid-related restrictions on supply and goods distribution during health crises.
In December 1892, mining in Blantyre faced turmoil as collieries attempted wage cuts of 12.5%, leading to protests from miners. While Merry & Cunningham’s Auchenraith Colliery announced regular hours and Saturday work for lost wages, Dixon’s pits experienced unrest from dismissed long-serving employees, amidst ongoing economic depression concerns.
Ellen Tomlinson messaged me saying, “I would love to find out more about my great grandparents who lived in Blantyre. James Paterson and Annie Paterson (née Doyle). I know Annie was from Uddingston and James was a miner and musician but can’t find anything about their parents. One of my mum’s cousins from that side […]
The following is an extract [Page A2] from the Blantyre Colliery Explosion Inquiry Report, dated 21st December 1877. In particular a sub report by Messrs Ralph Moore, TE Wales, and James Willis, Inspectors of Mines. Transcribed word for word by P. Veverka this extract comments on the immediate aftermath of the Pit Disaster and first […]
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 […]