Auchinloch
| Auchinloch | |
|---|---|
| village | |
 Map of Auchinloch in 1923 |
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| Coordinates: 55°54′N 4°8′W / 55.900°N 4.133°WCoordinates: 55°54′N 4°8′W / 55.900°N 4.133°W | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council | North Lanarkshire |
Auchinloch (Gaelic: Achadh an Locha) is a village in North Lanarkshire, near Lenzie in Scotland. In previous years it was in the Parish of Cadder and, until recently, Strathkelvin District. The village's name - "Field of the Loch" - derives from its proximity to a small loch called the Gadloch. Industrialization came in the 1880s, with the opening of the Lumloch Colliery, and then in the 1920s Wester Auchengeich Colliery. The latter closed in 1968.
Just outside Auchinloch is the Wallace Well, also Cardyke Farm Shelter, a branch of Cats Protection.
Auchinloch is home to the school, Auchinloch Primary, the present school building dates to the 1930s whilst the original 19th century school building still remains to the east of the village and now serves as the village hall/community centre. There is also a small corner shop, where the Asian shopkeeper Gurmit Basra was found murdered on 29 December 1999. The shop has since re-opened. Auchinloch Community Centre lies at the top of the village, near the local pub, the Golden Pheasant which is located on the dangerous Stepps Road. The Golden Pheasant had closed down by September 2013 leaving staff owed wages. There is also a Bowling Green in the village.
In September 1959, 47 men lost their lives in a coal mine near the village of Auchengeich when a faulty fan purifying the air in the colliery went on fire due to an electrical fault. The men were in bogies travelling to the coal face to start work, and due to the intense smoke they were abandoned just a few hundred yards from safety. The mine was eventually flooded to put out the fire; there was only one survivor from the crews. The mining accident was one of the worst within the UK in the 20th century, widowing 41 women and leaving 76 children without a father.
The First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond unveiled a memorial on 18 September 2009.Norman Buchan wrote a song, "Auchengeich", about the disaster, recorded by Dick Gaughan and The Easy Club.
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