Sourlie Open Cast: Part of Thatcher's coal reserves
Differing views on the 1984 Miner's Strike are allowed. On the one hand, the Thatcher government clearly had an agenda to smash trade unionism, while on the other hand, the NUM had been heavily infiltrated by hard-leftists -- and possible Communist agents -- and were quite happy to hold the country to blackmail as they did in the 1970s.
Luckily the burning embers of this divisive event have cooled down on the ever-growing pile of history. But one little known part of the 1984 Miner's strike occurred at a site that is now part of the always muddy Eglington Estate. At that time, the site now adorned by the hill with the standing stone on it, was part of a sizable open cast coal mine, whose period of maximum production coincided with the strike.
Indeed, the Sourlie Open Cast was established in 1983, as if in preparation for the strike, ramped up production in 1984, the year of the strike, and closed in 1986, after the miners had caved in.
By 1987, site reclamation, such as it was, had been completed, leaving a virtual toxic desert that was only gradually reclaimed by nature. Even today it looks more like part of the Serengeti rather than a lush part of Scotland and is generally avoided by the deer.
Developed by the Irvine Development Corporation (IDC) in collaboration with the National Coal Board, the mine operated unhindered throughout the miners strike and produced around 255,000 tonnes of coal, according to Prince & McIntyre's 1990 article "The Sourlie Saga – Sourlie Opencast and Reclamation Scheme" published in the Municipal Engineering journal.
OK, this is a pretty boring piece of history, but certainly of interest to anyone who lives in the area and wonders where the apparently "Druidic" stones that now occupy the area came from.
Thanks for the coal, here are some stones.
No comments:
Post a Comment