Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange - geograph

The National Mining Museum Scotland was created in 1984, to preserve the physical surface remains of Lady Victoria Colliery at

Newtongrange Newtongrange () is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as ''Nitten'', or ''Nitten by the Bing'' (), it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victoria Colliery a ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The colliery, sunk by the Lothian Coal Company in 1890, came into production in 1894. It was nationalised in 1947 with the formation of the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

, and had closed in 1981.

Buildings

The buildings were recognised as being of outstanding interest as they formed an almost complete survival of a major Victorian

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, with later additions. Some demolition, such as the 1950s canteen and medical centre, has occurred but the vast bulk of the structures stand. The winding engine is by

Grant, Ritchie and Company Grant, Ritchie and Company was a Scottish engineering firm based in Kilmarnock, Scotland. The company's products included steam engines and steam locomotives. History In 1876, there was a disastrous fire at Andrew Barclay’s Caledonia works in ...

and the colliery headstocks were built by Arrols of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. From 1998 onwards several of the main structures were stabilised and new visitor facilities opened.

Collections

National Mining Museum Scotland, machine hall

The Museum developed collections, such as a library, and exhibitions that were housed in a visitor centre which has previously formed part of the colliery offices. The

Prestongrange Prestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans to the east. The place name derives from "Preston", meaning "priest's town", and a grange (or granary) which was wo ...

beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...

, a

Cornish engine A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, mainly for pumping water from a mine. It is a form of beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier Watt steam engine, engines designed by James Wat ...

, at

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, also for a time formed part of the Museum until responsibility for it passed to

East Lothian Council East Lothian Council is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards. History East Lothian District Council had been ...

Recognition

The Colliery is Listed Category 'A' by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

. In 2008, to mark the 100th anniversary of the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...

, a drawing of Lady Victoria Colliery won an online vote as Scotland's Most Treasured place. A poem commemorating the colliery was also written. The museum has been described as 'a national treasure where the story of coal is kept alive for present and future generations' and the entire collection is recognised as a Nationally Significant Collection by

Museums Galleries Scotland Museums Galleries Scotland, formerly the Scottish Museums Council, is the National Development Body for the museum sector in Scotland. It offers support to 400 museums and galleries, ranging from small local museums to larger regional and natio ...

on behalf of the Scottish Government.

References

External links

National Mining Museum Scotland webpage
Underground mines in Scotland Mining museums in Scotland Museums established in 1984 1984 establishments in Scotland Museums in Midlothian Listed buildings in Scotland {{UK-museum-stub