The Colliery
The Lady Victoria Colliery opened in the 1890s  and became renowned as one of the first Scottish 'super pits' and a showpiece for the industry. Today the A-listed complex is recognised as one of the finest surviving examples of a Victorian colliery in Europe, and is home to the extensive collections of the Scottish Mining Museum, a nationally registered independent museum founded in 1984 to preserve and present Scotland's mining heritage.Named after the wife of the Marquess of Lothian,  the 'Lady Vic' formed part of the vast mineral empire of the Lothian Coal Company, which was owned by the marquess and the self-made engineering entrepreneur, Archibald Hood.From its earliest days,  when engineers used new brick-lining techniques to sink the shaft, the Lady Victoria was a proving ground for innovative technologies, including steel pit-props and the use of electricity for power as well as light. In its lifetime, it produced a record 40 million tons of coal, all hauled up the 500-metre shaft by the largest winding engine in Scotland. At its peak, the colliery had a workforce of almost 2,000 men and women.Closed in 1981, the surface buildings,  which were built on a grandiose scale and which are home to a vital part of the nation's heritage, continue to dominate the surrounding countryside. They stand as a vibrant tribute to the generations of men and women who laboured so hard to win Scotland's black diamonds. |
The Scottish Mining Museum, Lady Victoria
Colliery
Newtongrange, Midlothian, EH22 4QN
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Newtongrange, Midlothian, EH22 4QN
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