A-Frame, former Barony Colliery, Auchinleck

The Barony Colliery, near Auchinleck, represents a large colliery complex initially developed between 1906 and 1912, with significant reorganization and a new shaft sunk in the 1950s. It comprises two shafts; one for man and coal winding, and the other serving as an upcast for emergency use. This listing focuses on the most significant surviving elements from both construction phases.

The Old No 1 and No 2 Winding Engine Houses, constructed between 1906 and 1912, are a pair of single-storey, basement buildings in red and yellow brick, formerly housing steam winding engines. They feature round-headed openings. The side walls (6 bays) and the tripartite gable elevations are characterised by red brick panels set within yellow brick, with yellow brick also used for the arched heads of windows and doors. Red sandstone is used for the skew and skewputts. The roofs are slated, with two ridge ventilators on each. Unusually, the gables fronting the shafts are extended to create pedimented screen walls disguising the roof extensions which accommodated the winding ropes. Minor alterations have been made to both buildings.

The Electricity Generating Station, built during the 1906-12 phase, is a single-storey, basement red and yellow-brick building, originally 3 by 4 bays, with a later 4-bay extension on its long face. Both sections have hipped roofs. Its external appearance is consistent with the style of the winding engine houses. A generating station opened in 1957, burning coal slurry from the washing plant, but it was closed and demolished in 1983.

The Water Treatment House, Chimney, and Boilers are located in a two-storey, red-brick building, 5 by 1 bay in size with a replacement corrugated and perspex roof. While the style generally matches the older buildings on the site, the use of yellow brick is limited to the window heads at the upper level. Two Lancashire boilers sit within a brick setting, buttressed with later concrete. Associated steam piping, a later brick and concrete flue, and a plain circular-section brick chimney stalk—incorporating the remains of a cast-iron economiser—are also present.

No 3 Headgear is a four-legged, welded steel A-frame structure featuring four pulley wheels.

The Barony Colliery holds historical significance as the first large modern colliery in Ayrshire, initially established for the Eglinton Iron Company in connection with the Lugar ironworks. The colliery closed in 1989. Elements excluded from the listing include the coal washing and loading points, car hall, linked engine house, and covered conveyors.