Renfrewshire remembers mine workers with new memorial cairn

A memorial cairn and plaque has been unveiled in Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park to remember the men who lost their lives working in the Muirshiel Barytes Mine between 1942 and 1969.

The disused mine is located 4 km (2.5 miles), from Muirshiel Visitor Centre, high in the moorlands of Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Barytes is a high-density material often used as a filler and white pigment in textiles, paint and paper production. It also has uses in medicine and when drilling for oil and gas. The mine closed in September 1969 having been worked for about 200 years.

The proposal to build a commemorative cairn was made by members of the local community, including families of former barytes miners, and funded by Renfrewshire Council and the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. Samples of barytes were included in the construction of the cairn which was built by certified dry-stone waller Gordon Gray.

The cairn features a plaque carrying the names of six miners who lost their lives between 1942, when the mine reopened after a brief closure, and 1969 when the mine was closed permanently – James Burns, Eric McQuade, John Dale, Thomas Andrews, Ernest Mulholland and Charles Sprought.

Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron who laid a wreath at the cairn said: “Renfrewshire has always been an industrial area and it’s important to the people of Lochwinnoch that the hardships faced by the miners and their families are not forgotten. I’ve had the privilege of speaking to family and friends of former miners and it’s clear to see how much this recognition means to the community of Lochwinnoch.

“Barytes mining was dangerous and many men were killed or badly injured by rock falls,  incidents with explosives and accidents while travelling to and from the remote mine. Some of these men were only in their twenties and I’m glad that we are able to remember their names and their stories today.”

The cairn can be accessed on foot from Muirshiel Visitor Centre, in Muirshiel Country Park, near Lochwinnoch and is situated adjacent to a wind-up audio post which was installed in 2021 to allow the public to listen to former miner Harry Pratt’s memories of working in Muirshiel Mine. More information is available on the Clyde Muirshiel website – https://clydemuirshiel.co.uk/