Scottish Mining Museum

Museum guide in the Winding Engine Room

Visitors and museum guide at the Pit Head

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.

Now a five star visitor attraction, the museum tells the story of coal for Scotland through two floors of exhibitions, the Magic Helmet tour, recreated underground roadway and coalface, the largest winding engine in Scotland and the Big Stuff – Massive Mining Machinery tour.

The Museum’s archives hold many original documents relating to the Scottish Collieries, including those of the Lothian Coal Company, as well as over 14,000 photographs. A selection of over 2,000 of these photographs can be viewed on a touchscreen computer at the Museum.

The reference library at the Scottish Mining Museum houses books, journals, trade catalogues and periodicals covering the history of the coal mining industry. The library is open to researchers, by appointment, on Thursdays, between 10am and 4pm.

Visitors get up close to the Winding Engine

Two managers underground
Image (c)NCB

Archive Drawing of Arniston Pit Head Baths

• Visit our website at: http://www.scottishminingmuseum.com