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The Period of the Mortar Tub
The combination of a world-wide coal famine and a shortage
of labour had pushed coal to an unprecedented £4 a
ton in 1920 compared to 13/5 a ton in 1913. Suddenly demand
for coal fell dramatically. Foreign buyers, who had previously
purchased British Coal, were able to obtain cheaper supplies
from America. The Government found they were subsidising
the pits at the rate of -£2,000,000 a week and hurriedly
announced the end of the Coal Emergency Act.
Wage rates had reached 20/6 a shift and the coal owners,
when they regained control of the mines, immediately announced
a wage reduction. The Miners' Federation refused to accept
the decrease and a national strike began on 1st April 1921.
The strike lasted three months and the rates at the return
to work were 8/5 a shift.
During the strike the unions had called out the safety
men and many pits were seriously flooded before the troops
took over. Adam Haldane recalls, "We made up oor mind
efter the '21 Strike we widnae stop pumpin'. We aye allowed
the safety men intae the pit. The Miners' Union decided
it was foolish because we'd aye have tae go back."
There was a short-lived boom in the coal trade in 1924,
at the end ot which the coal owners sought to cut their
costs by doing away with the minimum rates, increasing the
working day by an hour thus cutting wages drastically. The
Government, faced with a crippling strike, decided to subsidise
the coal industry for nine months until May 1st 1926 to
prevent the wage cut. When the subsidy came to an end on
that date, and the miners still refused to accept the employers
terms, they were locked out. A general strike was called
to support the miners on May 4th but it lasted only nine
days. The miners felt they had been betrayed by the "ignominious
surrender" (R. Page Arnot, A History ot Scottish Miners
) of the other Trade Union leaders. The emergency Powers
Act of 1920 had been put into force on April 30th 1926 and
the pits were guarded by troops. At Newtongrange. soldiers
-with rifles were stationed on the railway bridge (the Coronation
Brig) over Murderdean Road. It is said that they had instructions
to shoot any miner approaching the pit. The soldiers were
billetted in the pit workshops. Eventually, atter seven
bitter months, the miners called oft the strike and returned
to work on the employer's conditions.
There had been no new houses built in Newtongrange for
several years atter the First World War due to a shortage
of men and materials. A huge house building programme was
begun by the coal owners ot Mid and East Lothian in 1923
and the Lothian Coal Co. was at the forefront of this activity.
A.S. Cunningham in his book 'Mining in Mid and East Lothian',
published in 1925, refers to this as "the period of
the mortar rub." In the three years between 1924 and
1927 a total of 269 houses were built, completing Fifth
and Sixth Street and creating five new streets. Seventh
Street to Tenth Street and Park Road. Temporary railway
tracks were laid up the centre ot these streets to give
easy access for building materials. "Houses for officials
of the colliery are two storeys in height, of four and five
apartments; while the cottages for miners are one storey.
Features of the houses are bathrooms sculleries and all
modern conveniences." (A.S. Cunningham).
In 1925 a primary school was built in Sixth Street next
to the new children's play area in the Welfare Park. This
relieved the overcrowding in Newbattle Public School, which
then became exclusively a secondary school. A school tor
the Roman Catholic children of Newtongrange and Gorebridge
was opened about 1924 at Newtonloan Toll, midway between
the two villages.
The joint founder of the Lothian Coal Co., Archibald Hood,
was managing director from 1890 until his death in 1902
and managing director between 1900 and 1902. His son.James
Hood, took over as managing director in 1902 and then as
chairman in 1911. He held both these posts until 1941. Archibald
and James Hood were both skilled mining engineers but they
had other extensive business interests in Scotland and Wales
which kept them away from Newbattle much of the time. For
over 40 years the detailed planning and management of the
pits and villages belonging to the Lothian Coal Co. was
in the hands of Mungo MacKay. the company agent and general
manager. His domination over the village of Newtongrange
in that time has become legendary.
Mungo MacKay was first employed by the Lothian Coal Co.
in 189(1 a^ under manager at Whitehall Colliery. He later
moved to Polton and in lx'y-4 \vas appointed manager at
Newbattle at the age ot 27. "In conjunction with Mr.
James A. Hood, managing director, he was largely responsible
tor the planning and layout of Newtongrange, which has made
it a model mining community, so far as housing and recreational
facilities are concerned. In the latter connection the provision
of an Institute for the workers of the Newbattle district,
the erection of a cinema and the opening of various sports
centres were largely due to his initiative and enterprise."(Dalkeith
Advertiser: 16 March 1939)
Mungo MacKay was a brilliant mining engineer and largely
due to his foresight, business acumen, management skills
and technical knowledge, the Lady Victoria Pit gained a
reputation as a model of innovation and good mining practice.
"Always well abreast of the times, Mr. MacKay was responsible
for the introduction of new ideas and modern appliances,
which gave the pits he managed the reputation of being among
the best regulated and equipped in the country."(Dalkeith
Advertiser: 16 March 1939)
Mungo MacKay lived in an imposing house opposite the Lady
Vie, a short way from the Colliery Office. His own office
was upstairs and anyone in the village guilty of an offence
would be sent for, to go "up the stairs" where
Mr. MacKay sat at the famous "green table" with
the company policeman standing behind. Tony Campbell remembers
"Mungo MacKay was the Keid yin in the village. Some
folk respected him. The gaffers, they were kinnae scared
o' him. Ye hear plenty stories. Ah never tad any dealin's
wi' him." John and Tom Lockhart: "He was a' right.
He wis strict right enough. He was respected tae. Ah dinnae
think onybody liked him. When they seen him comin' they
yist tae hide." Mrs. Preston: "He wisnae a nice
man. He was like Hitler. Folk were feart at losin' their
hooses. He came doon on the engine frae Easthooses an' he
could look right intae their back kitchens. An' if they
wernae kept right they were tellt tae sort them. "If
a miner failed to keep his garden properly someone was sent
in to tidy it up and the cost was deducted from the man's
wages.
George Armstrong: "Ah'll gie him his due he wis a
guid minin' engineer but he wis a hard man, a hard man.
If you done anything wrong at all ye had tae go up afore
him up tae what they cried the Green Table an' ye had tae
huv a collar an' tie on afore ye seen him an' if he fined
ee, it was 10/- donation to the Royal Infirmary. That wis
yer fine, 10/-donation to the Royal Infirmary."
You could be sent for for all reasons. Jim Barton was summoned
for whistling in the billiard room at the Institute, Steve
Moore was sent for (with his dad) when he was 10 years old
for riding a pit pony in a field at Lingerwood Farm and
Davie Paul was "skylarking" on a roof at the pit.
Sometimes you just got a row but fines were common. The
standard fine was 10/-but it could be as much as £2
and it was always a donation to the Royal Infirmary. This
went on until one time Jack Bradley was fined £2 for
smoking underground and he went back to the Infirmary and
told them it was a fine. They never accepted a penny after
that.
Mungo MacKay always seemed to know what was going on in
the village. Tony Campbell: "There was always a spy
in the camp. There was always somebody cliped."Jim
Barton: "If ye done anythin' wrong spies reported ye
tae Mr. MacKay. Ye didnae ken whae the spies wir. Ah could
be speaking' tae you an' you could be the spy. Ah wouldnae
ken if ah wis tae tell you somethin' an' you wis tae gaun
up an' tell MacKay. Ah've nae idea whae it wis."
The colliery officials were expected to interest themselves
in village societies and they were usually office bearers
in them. "It wisnae class distinction altogether. They
knew how to talk and they knew about rules. And, of course,
Mungo MacKay got all the information back." (Jim Reid)
Tony Campbell remembers seeing Mr. Hood on his rare visits
to Newtongrange. He remembers he was "swell dressed
in a fawn, nap coat. He carried a walking stick an' he had
a limp. He was with Mr. MacKay and the two of them came
in the main gates. Dod Hamilton had a wee hut beside the
gates, and he checked the coal cart - as they left. He kept
a goose wi' him. Well, this goose got away one day an' it
made straight for MacKay and Hood. Mr. Hood kept it away
with his stick. We took it for granted that Dod would catch
it - but ah never knew actually what happened. I never found
out. The goose was around for a while after that."
Mr. MacKay was on the Dean Committee from the beginning
in 1899. He was chairman from 1917 until his death in 1939.
Jim Barton: "MacKay wis the main man. He came intae
committee meetings in the back room. He was never in the
bar. They rung the bell when they were feenished if they
wanted a drink. MacKay never drunk.
He stopped the foremen drinkin' in the Dean. The blacksmith
foreman would sherpen yer picks and dreels an' ye would
gie them a bit nip.
MacKay downed it. "Ye'11 no' gaun intae the Dean,"
an' he stopped them gaun intae the Dean. But the contractors
came in. They wis aye a'thegither."
Frank Taylor was the Lothian Coal Company policeman. He
was a member of the County Constabulary but all his work
was tied up with the Coal Company. One of his jobs was to
allocate houses to miners in Newtongrange. It is said that
the better houses went to the favoured, or those with £2
or £3 to spare.
At Mungo MacKay's funeral, "There were very few people
out. It just passed very fleetingly by." (Tony Campbell)
Newtongrange was undoubtedly a well-regulated village in
Mr. MacKay's time and his regime has its supporters. Alec
Trench: "If Mungo MacKay wis here today this would
be a different village. That village wid never be allowed
tae go dilapidated the way it is now if MacKay had been
here."
The major decisions about the running of the Dean Tavern
and the use made of its profits were always made by the
Coal Company representatives on the Dean Committee. During
the '20s and '30s the Lothian Coal Co. representatives were
Mungo MacKay and James Murray, the company secretary. There
were two members representing the miners and both served
for life. When one died the remaining Committee members
decided on a suitable replacement. Mungo MacKay was the
decision maker and it is clear that most of the Dean business
was determined outwith the Committee meetings. Usually major
decisions were at least formally discussed but occasionally
there was no discussion. For example in the 1926 Minutes:
"Mr. MacKay mentioned that the two cottages being built
on the site of the picture house were to be property of
this Committee and that we would be charged for the building
of the same."
On one occasion Mr. MacKay did not get his own way. In
1936, the Newbattle Welfare Committee had a deficit of £.1,350
and Mr. MacKay tried to get the men at the pit to pay an
extra penny a week Welfare money. They refused and the Dean
Committee agreed to pay the deficit when they had enough
money.
In 1920 there was a bnet threat to the continuation of
the Dean Tavern when a Veto Poll was requested in Newtongrange
by local prohibition supporters under the terms of the 1913
Temperance Act to vote on whether the village should become
a 'dry' area. In the months preceding the poll there was
a 'No Licence' Campaign run by the Citizen's Council and
an Anti-Prohibition Campaign. The results of the poll were
No Change - 863, Limited Licence - 7, No Licence - 210.
The turnover of the Dean reached a peak of nearly £15,000
in the year 1920-1921 when wages were at a record level
but it fell back by a third the year after. Profits were
generally above £1,500 a year though were a bit lower
in the 1930s.
Annual grants of £5 to £10 were given by the'
Committee to various local organisations such as the Rifle
Club, the Flower Show, the Cage Birds Society, the Homing
Pigeon Club, the Gala Day and the Ambulance Association.
The Bowling Club always had regular support and any repairs
or improvements were paid by the Dean. Other organisations
receiving accasional help were the Burns Club, the cricket
club and the school football and netball teams. The Quoiting
Club got £5 a year between 1922 and 1926 when it folded.
Quoiting had been a very popular sport in the district in
previous days.
Newtongrange Star F.C. had played no matches during the
First World War and their pitch and pavilion were badly
neglected. They applied to the Dean Committee in 1919 for
a grant to help re-start the club. The pavilion needed rebuilding
and the gates and fences were broken down. The War Memorial
Committee proposed that the old pitch be used as part of
an extension to the public park and the Dean Committee decided
to provide a new pitch and pavilion for the Star beside
the bowling green at Murderdean Road.
The pavilion when it was built in 1923 was, in the words
of the Dalkeith Advertiser reporter, "a capacious structure,
which, in appearance and size, surpasses those belonging
to many senior clubs. The Star \\i\\ be in the proud position
of being the first junior club in Midlothian - it not in
the whole of Scotland - to possess a grandstand." Besides
dressing rooms and showers for both teams and the referee,
the grandstand also contained a room with a boxing ring
for Newtongrange Boxing Club; a room for the Pigeon Club:
one for the Quoiting Club; another for the Miniature Rifle
Club (to replace their range in the public park) and another
room which was set aside for the Radio Association.
There was a running track round the pitch and a quoiting
ground beside the grandstand. It was estimated that the
ground would hold 20,000 to 30,000 spectators. The cost
of the whole project was £5,000.
There had been plans to build an Institute at Easthouses
since 1914 but the war intervened. In 1918 plans were revived
but postponed until materials and labour were available.
The Easthouses Institute was finally built on similar lines
to the one at Newtongrange in 1925. It cost £4,000
and was almost the last building to be erected at the expense
of the Dean Tavern. Thereafter, most ot the Dean profits
were used in maintaining earlier buildings and supporting
existing organisation, sometimes to a considerable degree.
The planned extension of the public park was undertaken
with money, not from the Dean Tavern profits, but from the
funds of the District Miner's Welfare Committee for Mid
and East Lothian. One penny was levied on every ton of coal
produced in Great Britain and the money was to be spent
on recreation, health and education in the mining areas.
The park was begun in 1924 and opened on September llth,
1926. Dalkeith Advertiser: 16 September, 1926 "Viscount
Chelmsford, who was accompanied by Commander Coote, R.N.,
formally opened the park, claimed to be the first of its
kind in Scotland. It extends to about 17 acres and has a
putting green with separate pavilion, and a children's play
centre. There is a bandstand in the centre of the park,
whilst there are flower-beds and shrubs, and a rockery with
numerous herbaceous plants are among the other features.
The park has cost about £9,000."
Lord Chelmsford was the chairman of the Central Welfare
Committee in London and Commander Coote had designed the
children's play centre, which was the first of its type
in Scotland.
Preceding the formal opening was a ceremony in the Square
Park when Mary Allan; dux girl of Newbattle School, was
crowned Queen by Mrs. Fowler, the headmaster's wife.
In 1925 the Dean Committee undertook "to pay the wages
of the workmen in the Welfare Park meantime." This
was £507 in the first year. Payments continued intil
1950 when Midlothian County Council took over the park.
The opening of the park took place in the middle of the
big strike of 1926. In other parts of the country, Fife
in particular, there were violent scenes during the strike
but there was little trouble in Newtongrange. Union leaders
were present at the park opening, notably Andrew Clarke,
who was later to be President of the Scottish Miners. In
his speech he commented that, "If the standard of life
throughout the country had been regulated by the standard
of the social amenities that had been provided in Newtongrange,
they would probably not have had the measure of unhappiness
that had been prevailing throughout the country during the
last .19 weeks."
John Purves, the Dean manager since 1916, went away to
Stirling in 1924, where he had bought a pub. The Committee
spoke to Tom Hac-kett, who was then manager at the Bottom
Shop, and engaged him as manager of the Dean. Big Bob McKinlay
was the second man. Jim Barton recollects, "When Hackett
went in he sent for me, for spare time after that. So ah
went wi Hackett an a wis there for eleeven year.
They didnae bottle much beer up at the Dean. It was mair
boucht in there. But we bottled some beer. Ye hid Barclay
Perkins. We washed oor ain bottles and then they got Id.
when they broucht them back. There wis nae heavy beer or
lager. There were nane o' that - a' draught light and draught
stout. There were nae taps like the present day. The pumps
worked by pressure, a water engine.
Ye had different brands o' whisky in the Dean -Crawford's
three star and Crawford's five star. They had their own
whisky tae, the Dean Special. They had it in jars, twae
gallon jars on the bar - ye got a nip oot the jar. It wis
in bottles tae. During the Second War ye were only allowed
two nips on Saturday nicht.
Ladies wid come intae the joog bar and sit. Then they wid
come in tae get a pint o' beer for their man wi' a tin pitcher
or a cheenyjug. Ye put it in an' just geen them an extra
pu' - 6d. a pint, same as through the bar.
If ye wis teetotal ye could hae a gless o' port. Sherry
wis never much asked for. In later years when the weemin
was allowed in then it was gin an' vodka an' a' this.
When Baillieston bate Nitten 3-0 in the Scottish Cup, that's
the day we sellt eleven hoggets (4,750 pints) o' beer. We
opened in the mornin', it wis a Seturday mornin' an' ah
wis workin'.
Hackett went an' telk MacKay that ah wis needed so ah came
up the pit at 12 o' clock an' ah wis hame an' washed an'
had ma denner an' a wis in the bar when the train cam' in
at the back o' yin o' clock. We had a special licence a'
day. Ah've never seen anythin' like it. If ye hidnae a tumbler
ye couldnae get a drink. Ye couldnae get in an' ye couldnae
get oot. Oh, heavens! Yer apron wis wet, yer breaks wis
wet, yer drawers wis wet. We hid tae gaun hame and chinge
oorselves and come back and get the work din. There wernae
even a drink for the waiters.
The Dean wis wild at rimes. We yist tae hae fights regular.
Ah got the seek for fightin' three or fower times."
Once Jim Barton spilled beer on a man, Sammy Hay. Sammy
hit him so Jim hit him back. "He went strecht ower
the table. He wis unconscious. Ah hid tae take him hame
on the barry. So MacKay go tae ken aboot that an' ah got
the seek. Well, the brewery yist tae supply us wi' bits
wi' string soles on them - canvas. Ah wis stannin' ootside.
Hackett comes up tae me. 'Ye'd better bring thae bits back
tae the shop'. Ah said, 'If ye want thae bits back came
up tae the hoose and get them.' So he says, 'Ye's better
come back.' The man admitted he wis wrong an' we wis great
pals efter that."
Mr. Barton remembers a break-in at the Dean and the culprit
tried to frame him by leaving a trail of Woodbines all the
way to his house. They got the man coming off the Glasgow
train with a bag of coppers in his pocket. He dropped some
of his loot by the side of the road and Chipper Young found
it - three pints of whisky in a parcel.
Jim Barton is proud of his knack of carrying fourteen pint
mugs of beer by the handles without spilling any. It has
won him quite a few bets in his time.
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