National Mining Museum Scotland

Lady Victoria Colliery - Scotland's Black Diamonds

Useful Information

Location:	Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, Midlothian, EH22 4QN. In Newtowngrange 10 miles south-east of Edinburgh on the A7 trunk road. (55.86218, -3.06703)
Open:	APR to OCT daily 10-17. NOV to MAR daily 10-16. [2024]
Fee:	Exhibition Entry & Guided Tour with Ex-Miner Guide: Adults GBP 9.50, Children (7-15) GBP 3.50, Children (0-6) free, Concession GBP 7.50, Family (2+2) GBP 21. Exhibition Entry & Audio Tour of the Pit Head. Adults GBP 8, Children (7-15) GBP 2.50, Children (0-6) free, Concession GBP 5. Exhibition Only: Adults GBP 4, Children (0-15) free, Concession GBP 3.50. [2024]
Classification:	Coal Mine Replica Underground Mine Mining Museum
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	Guided Tour With Ex-miner Guide: D=2 h. Audio Tour: D=45 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Leaflets, publications and information packs.
Address:	National Mining Museum Scotland, Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtowngrange, Midlothian EH22 4QN, Tel: +44-131-663-7519. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1895	Lady Victoria Colliery opened.
1981	colliery closed.
1984	Scottish Mining Museum opened to the public.
1999	renovation and redevelopment completed.
2009	renovation of the Tippler Floor, Picking Tables, Elevator Shed and brick-vaulted Undercroft.
2011	Scottish Mining Museum renamed National Mining Museum Scotland for undisclosed reasons.

Geology

Description

Lady Victoria Colliery was the showpiece of the Scottish Coalfields from its opening in the 1890's.

An audio-visual presentation "Talking Tableaux" describes a day in the life of a miner in the pit village and underground guided tours take the visitor round the Grant Richie steam winding engine and the pithead. Other exhibits describe the hard working conditions the miner endured, mining skills and the Scottish Coalfields. The hands-on models for children "Operation Move It!" are also gaining a reputation for their originality, The tour of the site also includes a surface "mock-up" of a modern coal face. Steps, however, make parts of the tour difficult for wheelchair users. The site also includes a gift shop ad tea room. Some picnic facilities are available. Parking is free.

Text by Tony Oldham (2001). With kind permission.

Lady Victoria Colliery is a fine example of a Victorian coal mine, one of the few which actually survived almost complete. As steam engines powered by coal were the motor of the early industrial revolution, during the Victorian age, this mine is actually a symbol of the origins of our modern technical civilization. The National Mining Museum Scotland, is located at this colliery, only 15 kilometers from Edinburgh. The museum includes a three-story visitors centre, with two exhibitions, The Story of Coal dedicated to the history and technology of coal mining and A Race Apart, telling about the mining communities. They are modern exhibitions with interactive displays, reconstructions, sound and visuals.

The abandoned mine is present at the museum in various ways. On the surface is the pithead, where the miners entered the colliery for decades. It contains the largest winding engine in Scotland, which was in operation some 90 years and is still operational. It was used to move miners, coal, and material in and out of the mine. The mining took place about 500 m below, a level which is not accessible any more. But there is a re-created underground roadway and coalface, which offers the experience and atmosphere of a working pit. On the surface is an exhibition of massive mining machinery with a tour called Big Stuff on Wednesdays and Sundays only.

The museum has a rather strange but somewhat comfortable electronic guiding system. So-called magic helmets are fitted with remote-controlled headphones. They describe and explain what you see while you are strolling around the premises. The tours are self-guided tours including the underground section.

At our last update of this page we were quite irritated. When we reviewed the site last it was named Scottish Mining Museum, they had a domain with this name and it was widely published under this name. Now, 15 years later, the museum is named National Mining Museum Scotland, and the former name is not even mentioned on any page, they actually state that it was named so from the opening in 1984. We have no idea why a museum which is dedicated to preserve the past in a neutral and objective was has to try such a strange cover-up operation. Actually we are despised by such behaviour, and strongly recommend to visit other sites which do no cover-ups. Go to nearby Prestongrange Museum which actually has a much better Cornish Beam engine and the entrance fee is free. We can't even see the reason for this dishonest behaviour, the old name was perfectly fine, there is no need to hide it in the shadows. However, if they did all the work with getting a new domain and all, they should have probably used the name Lady Victoria Colliery.