Linwood Oil Works

Alternative names:

Linwood Shale Oil Works

Former parish and county:

Parish of Kilbarchan

Local authority:

Renfrewshire

Ownership:

James Anderson & Son

Clippens Oil Co. Ltd. (1878)

Opened:

Presumably constructed c.1868

Closed:

Presumably dismantled c.1874

Current status of site:

Presumed site; wooded rough ground

Regional overview:

Oil works in the Renfrewshire area

Not listed by Redwood. Valuation rolls suggest that the site was incorporated into Clippens Oil Works. James Anderson & Son worked coal, and presumably shale from their Linwood pit.

The location of Linwood shale oil works is uncertain; a small bing to the East of Linwood village marks a possible site.

Directory Listings

From Watson's Directory for Paisley:

LINWOOD Shale Coal Oil Works – James Anderson, proprietor – office, 33 Renfield street, Glasgow (1871–74) 18 Renfield street, Glasgow (1875)
ANDERSON, James, proprietor, Linwood Shale Coal Oil Works – office, 33 Renfield st, - house, Pollockshields (1870-71), office 11, West Nile St (1872), office 18, Renfield St. (1873-75)
BARROWMAN, John, underground oversman, Linwood Shale Oil Works – house, at the Works (1870-75)
BARROWMAN, Thomas, manager, Linwood Shale Oil Works, - house, Graham Street, Johnstone (1870-72), mineral manager, Linwood (1873-74) Linwood Shale and Coal Works – Canderside Colliery, Stonehouse (1875)

Mapped by the Ordnance Survey of c.1897 showing possible location of the oil works in red.

Rateable value by year

Date	Rateable Value	Owner	Occupier	Notes
1867	--	Thomas Speirs	Thomas Speirs	No oil works
	--			Minerals unwrought
1868	--			No oil works
	£56.10/-	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1869	£150	James Anderson	James Anderson	Oil works
	£360	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1870	£100	James Anderson	James Anderson	Oil works
	£813	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1871	£220	James Anderson	James Anderson	Oil works
	£655.10/-	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1872	£220	James Anderson	James Anderson	Oil works
	£830	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1873	£220	James Anderson	James Anderson	Oil works
	£770	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1874	£50	James Anderson	James Anderson	Erection at pithead
	£666.10/-	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1875	£50	James Anderson	James Anderson	Erection at pithead
	£300	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Thomas Speirs & James Anderson	Minerals
1876	--	James Anderson	James Anderson	NO FURTHER ENTRIES FOR OIL WORKS
	£300	Thomas Speirs	Clippens Oil Company Ltd	Minerals
				For continuation of rateable value, refer to Clippens Oil Works

Location map

Detailed maps

Linwood Oil Works - 25" OS map c.1895, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Linwood Oil Works - 1:2,500 OS map c.1950, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Linwood Oil Works - Aerial, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Recent images

April 2011.

Newspaper references

JOHNSTONE.- Miners' Wages.-The miners in the employment of Mr Anderson have agreed to restrict their darg to five shillings a day and their working hours to eight. Mr Dunlop has conceded the advance of sixpence a-day to the ironstone miners at Linwood, and Mr Craig has agreed to increase the wages of his shaleworkers to the same extent.

Glasgow Herald, 8th April 1872

.......

THE SHALE OIL TRADE - The shale and oil works near Linwood, belonging to Messrs James Anderson & Co. which have been suspended for many months, have just been reopened, giving employment to a number of men in the district.

Paisley Herald and Renfrewshire Advertiser, 6th November 1875