An immense pit-head winding gear which dominates the skyline around the village of Auchinleck in East Ayrshire, the Barony A-Frame is last remnant of the Barony Colliery which operated between 1907 and 1989 and employed up to 1200 people at its peak. This pit was established by the Eglinton Iron Company to supply fuel to their Lugar Ironworks, but modernised in the 1950s with the sinking of a new shaft to become the first large modern pit in Ayrshire. Located to the north of the Lugar Water, 1¼ miles (2 km) northeast of Ochiltree, the B-listed steel structure has been restored at a cost of more than £1 million to serve as a monument to an industry which once dominated the area. It was built in 1954 and is the last remaining of its type in Britain, and a significant level of funding came from Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The monument was officially opened by Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, on 21st January 2008.
Nearby is a plaque commemorating four miners who died as the result of an accident in the mine in 1962. Their bodies were never recovered.
A power station was opened on an adjoining site in 1957, burning slurry from the coal-washing plant. This closed in 1983 and was demolished to be replaced by a large chipboard-manufacturing plant.
