National Coal Board : Scottish Division : East Fife Area : Rothes Colliery - descriptive brochure, c1952

            Rothes was one of the great hopes of the NCB in Scotland as, in the years after nationalisation, it attempted to invest in not only improving existing infrastructure and pits - many of which were elderly and time-expired - but also develop new coal fields and new collieries. At a time when coal powered the economy this was seen as vital and in Fife, at Rothes, the Coal Board continued work at a sinking planned and started by the Fife Coal Company before nationalisation in 1947.

The FCC was, generall, seen as one of the more progressive companies - early amalgamations had enabled some colliery redevelopments, better production methods and improved extraction such as at their pre-WW2 flagship pit, Comrie. Early shaft sinking at Rothes, to tap into a supposedly proven coal field, was problematic as vast quantities of water entered the excavations causing major problems. Eventually this was overcome but it was a warning of the difficulties this pit would face. The Board anticipated mining to start in 1956 with output rising to a maximum of 5,000 tpd by 1964. Production started in 1957 and an unusual Royal opening by HM Queen Elizabeth occurred in 1958. However by 1960 serious problems with thinning seams, intrusions and water saw the colliery struggling to maintain outputs against increasing costs. In 1964 the colliery was abandoned - one of the greatest project failures ever seen in the industry.

The colliery's working were planned on the most modern lines - underground and on the surface - drawing on best UK, Continental and American practices - and the surface structures, seen in the model, were designed by the NCB's architect Egon Riss. The highlights of this very contemporary architecture were the two towering concrete headframes that housed electric Koepe winders. The colliery stood derelict for many years - the water filled shafts being used to rest North Sea diving techniques and equipment - and the gaunt towers were local landmarks until demolition took place in 1993 despite attempts to preserve them as monuments not just to this colliery but a then vanished industry in Scotland.

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Thornton (show map)

Taken on: March 20, 2022

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Mike Ashworth Collection

Egon Riss

Scotland

Scottish Division

East Fife Area

Rothes

Fife

Rothes Colliery

coal

colliery

coal mining

investment

industrial architecture

modern architecture

1952

booklet

handbook

Fife Coal Company

colliery headstocks

winding towers

colliery architecture

Koepe winders

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concrete headframes « less

Sets appears in: • Everything Electrical • Rothes Colliery - NCB handbook, c1952 more » • National Coal Board • Coal and coal mining « less

Groups appears in: • Typography and Lettering • industrial culture more » • Industrial Architecture/ Archaeology UK • Vintage Typography • INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPES & INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURES OLD AND NEW. • VINTAGE SCOTLAND - EPHEMERA. • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY • Industrial and Trade Catalogues • Coalfields UK • National Coal Board - NCB • IndustrialWorldWide « less

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