ScotlandsPeople adds Coal Board statutory plans

Via email from ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk):

Nearly 5,000 images of plans have been added to the ScotlandsPeople website. Created between 1955 and the late-1980s, these plans depict abandoned and active mine workings across much of the central belt of Scotland from Ayrshire through to Stirlingshire.

There's more on the release at https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/record-guides/coal-board-statutory-working-plans:

National Records of Scotland (NRS) holds 4,865 National Coal Board statutory working plans of abandoned and current workings (NRS, RHP146000) created under requirements of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954. These plans were created between 1955 and 1989 as a response to the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 . This act required mining managers to keep accurate plans of abandoned and active workings in the mine, as well as all other workings within the boundaries of the mine or within a prescribed distance of the mine. Additionally, sections of the seams or veins of working coal and their overlaying strata were sometimes included.

These plans cover much of the central belt of Scotland and have generally been catalogued from left to right, from Ayrshire through to Stirlingshire. Only areas with active or abandoned coal workings are represented, including underwater workings.

The images are free to view. 

Does your house have an old mine shaft under it?!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Show and tell mining history event in Cumnock

From East Ayrshire Council:

Show and Tell your mining history at our Cumnock event

Do you have mining memorabilia, lots of stories or an interest in local mining history?  Come along to this exciting Show and Tell!

As part of  a photography and oral history project "Mineworkings", by artist Nicky Bird, National Galleries of Scotland is hosting a Show and Tell exhibition at Barrhill Community Learning Centre, celebrating East Ayrshire's mining heritage.

Share your knowledge

If you've got memorabilia, whether it's photographs, mementos or objects, or you're just interested in finding out more, please come along and share your artefacts, questions and stories to help keep the memories alive.  

Community Portraits

Transport yourself to the past by adding your own portrait to our unique collection of photos from mining communities from the 1980s.

Event details
Wednesday 26 July, 11.00am - 3.00pm
Barrhill Community Learning Centre, Bank Avenue, Cumnock KA18 1PQ

Visit our Coal Communities Landscape Partnership website at https://coalfieldcommunities.co.uk

(With thanks to East Ayrshire Council)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry adds UK, Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths Index, 1878-1951

Newly released on Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

UK, Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths Index, 1878-1951
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62506/
Source: Data compiled by Ian Winstanley ("The database that supports this index was created by Ian Winstanley for his website, The Coalmining History Resource Centre. The information in the database is derived from primary historical sources.")

UK, Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths Index, 1878-1951

General collection information

This collection documents the hazards of working in the coal mining industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The index provides the names of people who were injured or killed while working in mines between 1878 and 1951. The entries for each person state whether the event was an injury or a death with a brief description of the event. They also include the miner’s place of residence, the date of the event, and the name of the employer. Some records also contain the miner’s birth year and occupation within the industry.

Using this collection

• The index may include the following information:
• Names
• Event type
• Date of the event
• Residences of coal miners
• Names of mine owners
• Occupation
• Birth year
• Notes about the event

The information from this index could be used to verify that your ancestor was injured or killed while working as coal miner at a specific time during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. You may also discover the nature of the accident and how your ancestor was injured or killed.

NB: A few test searches shows many Scottish entries, with information about various incidents, but the source information for each entry is simply given as the Coalmining History Resource Centre, rather than the actual primary source. Further details might be obtainable from the centre or from newspapers (e.g. at the British Newspaper Archive at www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), but it is also worth checking the Scottish Mining platform at www.scottishmining.co.uk, which has details of many accidents.

There is in fact a separate database on Ancestry from 2014 called UK, Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths Index, 1878-1935, again from the Coalmining History Resource Centre, located at https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/9735/. I suspect there will be a some duplication between the two databases.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

The story of Woodhead lead mine

If your ancestors lived at Woodhead lead mine, in the parish of Carsphairn, Kikrcudbrightshire, where mining took place from 1838-1873, you may be interested to read an article on the BBC website entitled Unearthing the story of Scotland's industrial ghost village - you'll find it at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-62036220.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.