Scottish Housing Day

As it's Scottish Housing Day today, we're taking a look at the old Bowhill Miners' Institute. Built by the local mining community using Bowhill brick, this now derelict building was once a hub of local activity and played a significant role in the town's history.

This historic building has been listed as a Grade C and is on the national ‘Buildings at Risk Register’. It had been held in private ownership for many years before Ore Valley was able to acquire it via an auction in late 2018. We hope to develop the property for residential use whilst maintaining the integrity of the original building where possible. 

The Bowhill Coal Company (dating from the early 1890s) started building colliery workers houses in 1895 and then went on to build the Bowhill Miner's Institute. Since then the building has played an important role in the town.

During strikes in 1920s/30s mineowners shut the water off to all the houses in the village to try and force the miners back to work, however they couldn’t shut the water off to the institute.  The Institute has seen a variety of uses over the years such as the United Free Church Sunday School, a youth club and a soup kitchen, it also hosted various clubs including a Make-Do & Mend craft club during the World War 2 and Cardenden Amateur Swimming Club even used benches at the old Miner’s Institute for land training!

If you have any old photos or memories of the Miners' Institute why not share them with us?