Scottish shale Scottish shale

Albyn mine

Parish:
Uphall, Linlithgowshire
Local authority:
West Lothian
Seams worked:
Broxburn Shale
Opened:
Prior to 1883
Closed:
Broxburn shale workings abandoned 1893-4. Curly shale working abandoned 1905
Current status of site:
Derelict ground within an industrial site
Regional overview:
Mines in the Broxburn area

albynmine.jpg

Inclined shaft heading S.E into the Broxburn shale

Serving Broxburn Oil Works

A substantial mine driven from a site in the heart of Broxburn Oil Works. The main roadway headed to the south east following the dip of the Broxburn Shale.

Mineral statistics (see below) for 1883 record that Albyn mine worked a 5ft thick seam of Broxburn shale by stoop and room. 10 were employed on the surface and 79 underground, (16 and 75 in 1884) under the management of Alex Kennedy. Downcast and upcast shafts were 8'x7' and 9'x7' respectively, and the non-fiery mine was ventilated by fan.

Shale-field: Broxburn district.

Mapped by the Ordnance Survey of c.1897 showing location of adit, but marked as "disused".

  • Location & workings at Albyn mine

      • Show seams:

  • Detailed maps
  • Drawings
  • Mineral Statistics

      • During much of the Victorian period, Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines produced an annual report to the Secretary of State recording the output of coal and other minerals, plus a variety of associated statistics, including a list of mines. The format and detail of these "Mineral Statistics" varied considerably, each Mine Inspector compiling a report of this own area according to his own style. Scotland was served by two mines inspectors; being divided into eastern and western districts.

      MineralStatistics.jpg

      The most detailed of these reports provide substantial information on each pit, including details of shafts, ventilation and methods of working, and the number employed at each site. Others provide little more than name of the pit, the owner, and the seam worked. Mineral Statistics for certain years have been digitised in full and are available through www.archive.org., others are available, for a fee as Google books, and some have been partly transcribed (to varying degrees of accuracy) and made available through various mines research sites. Our museum holds a number of annual Mineral Statistics from the 1880's.

    Recent images

    1010467.jpg 1010473.jpg
  • External references

      • Coal Authority Mine Abandonment Catalogue No. 2932, showing workings in the Broxburn Shale from Albyn Mine, abandoned in 1893
      • Coal Authority Mine Abandonment Catalogue No. 3185, showing workings in the Broxburn Shale from Albyn Mine, abandoned in 1894
      • Coal Authority Mine Abandonment Catalogue No. 4752, showing workings in the Curly Shale from Albyn Mine, abandoned in 1905

    Enquiry form