Fallin village coal mining history

Like many other coal mining villages across Scotland, Fallin didn’t really exist as a village until coal was first discovered at the site around 1904. Nearby, coal was first unearthed in the local area a mile and a half away in Millhall in Stirling, the shafts that started operation here in about 1902 were known as Polmaise 1 and 2. The two working coal shafts at Fallin were known as Polmaise 3 and 4. The coal pits at Fallin and Millhall worked independently of each other until they converged in 1931.

The entrance to Polmaise Colliery (c) image from BBC Highlands and Islands website

As the coal pits at Fallin were too far away from other villages and more established areas, housing was built for the miners of Fallin. In four years, from when the coal pit was discovered in 1904, Fallin went from having a few cottages to a thriving community with a school and a church. The first cottages at Fallin were mostly inhabited by workmen who built the houses known as the ‘blocks’ that made up the village of Fallin. Over 180 families could be housed in 1 single block and several blocks were built during 1906-1908.

Each block was supplied with running water for domestic use and for flushing the toilets that were shared between two houses. The ‘blocks’ of Fallin were not well built and suffered from damp and infestations of woodlice and beetles. They were finally demolished in the 1950’s.

According to Dr. John C. McVail (Stirlingshire’s Medical Officer of Health), in 1910 the population of Fallin was 989 (544 males, 445 females). This was smaller than the two neighbouring coal villages (Cowie- 2559 and East Plean- 1569).

All that is left of Polmaise Colliery can now be seen at the Mining museum.

The coal pit of Fallin was in operation until 1987 when it closed down. The bing we have today has resulted from the spoil that accumulated during the coal mining. The site is approximately 27 hectares in size. The bing was re-profiled in 1994 when about a third of the material was removed from the top. During this re-profiling a variety of trees species were planted to create a diverse woodland and wildflowers were planted to create a meadow.

Today the site is owned by Stirling Council and is widely used by members of the local community including dog walkers, cyclists and joggers. Stirling Council has undertaken a variety of habitat management tasks at Fallin Bing. Adjacent to the bing is Wester Moss which is an important peat bog for the UKBAP priority species Large heath butterfly (Coenonympha tullia) and the rare Sun bog jumper spider (Heliophanus dampfi) as well as other wildlife. Wester moss is currently being managed by Butterfly Conservation.

 

Fallin Bing today overlooking Wester Moss (c) Scott Shanks

References

Hutton, G. (2009) Old Fallin, Cowie and Plean. Stenlake Publishing.

Mair, C. (2010) The Gothenburg 1910-2010 A hundred years of history in Fallin. Fallin Public House Society Ltd.

Scottish mining museum website- www.scottishminingmuseum.com/