Garnkirk Colliery and Brickfield, about 1835

Artistic impression of Garnkirk Colliery and Brickfield, owned by Messrs. Murray & Co. The drawing is possibly by R. Findlater, who also sketched Gartcloss Colliery around the same time.

This is typical of the small mines which began to appear in Lanarkshire in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. Many of these were in fairly remote locations and workers' housing had to be built nearby. These communities often had to move elsewhere once the mines had been exhausted. The Garnkirk Colliery and Brickfield Co. (later known as the Garnkirk Fireclay Company) began in 1832, after the opening of the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway the previous year.

Garnkirk was operated by James Murray in partnership with Thomas and Mark Sprot. The Company mainly worked the fireclay deposits underground in the area covering Stepps to Glenboig, although it seems to have also worked coal. It went out of business in the early 1900s.