On the 15th April 1912 the very day 1500 people lost their lives when the Titanic sank in the Atlantic, a tragedy also unfolded closer to home in Blantyre when Auchinraith Pit 1 collapsed. The pit bottom of Number 1 shaft at Auchinraith Colliery trapping 2 men in the debris. The accident occurred about five […]
Anthony Smith kindly shared these excellent photos of the former Priory Colliery Bing which were taken by his father in 1964. Contractors arrived a few year later in 1966 and 1967 to level this bing, which by my reckoning was the largest man made object to have ever existed in Blantyre. The Bing may have […]
In mid June 2018, a welcome new feature appeared on High Blantyre Main Street. A planter, in the shape of a mining it cart or bogey. Environmental group, “Bonnie Blantyre” and “Blantyre Community Council” arranged for flowers and a beautiful display to be put into the cart, for all to enjoy. How fitting it […]
Illustrated here is a drawing made on Thursday 25th October 1877, just a couple of days after the Blantyre Explosion. This was an accurate depiction, these particular illustrators capturing the scene as best as possible. It was cold and rainy that week, the dark afternoons arriving early. By the Thursday, regular crowds of […]
In January 2017, Alex Rochead was walking at Blantyreferme near the River Clyde and noticed these ruins not far from the former Colliery site. There were bricks and foundations and what appeared to be a deep pit formed of concrete. Some of the brick structures had white tiles on the inside. So what was […]
I’ve been surprised lately to find out how many Colliery Dynamite stores still exist in Blantyre. One at Sydes Brae, another near Craigknowe and one at Bardykes, so I was curious when Graham Carson has contacted me saying, “At the time of the 1957 pictures of Priestfied Terrace were taken I lived in number 3 […]
Shared here by Gordon Cook is a picture taken in 1902 of miners descending in a cage. It is basically a cattle grid with chains, there is nothing to hold on to, and they were not slow in rising or descending either! Gordon told me, “Just a week after the overwinding accident of 1878 […]