Abandoned Coal and Oil Shale Mine Plans for Scotland from 1872

Over 12,000 microfilm aperture cards contain plans of abandoned mine workings, primarily for coal and oil shale. The collection includes approximately 7,170 abandonment plans deposited since 1872 and an additional 5,000 pre-1872 working plans, compiled by the British Geological Survey on behalf of the Coal Authority.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution and historical progression of mine workings using plan dates and mineral types (coal, oil shale, ironstone).
• Study compliance with the 1872 Coal Mines Regulation Act by examining the deposition timeline of abandonment plans.
• Research the evolution of mining techniques in Central Scotland by comparing pre-1872 and post-1872 plan collections.
• Map coalfield areas in Central Scotland using the geographic information contained within the plan drawings.

Strengths

• Contains over 12,000 individual mine plans, providing substantial historical coverage.
• Includes plans from 1872 onwards, offering a long temporal record of mining activity.
• Covers multiple mineral types, notably coal and oil shale, with some ironstone plans.

Limitations

• Data is stored on physical microfilm aperture cards, not in a readily analyzable digital format.
• No complete digital index exists, requiring manual lookup via a paper catalogue.
• Geographic coverage is limited to coalfield areas of Central Scotland.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS), holding the collection on behalf of the UK Coal Authority.

Collection Method

Plans were deposited upon mine abandonment as per regulation, with additional plans added from British Coal collections.

Time Range

From before 1872 onwards, with a concentration of records post-1872.

Freshness

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Geography

Coalfield areas of Central Scotland.