Scottish shale Scottish shale

Duddingston No.3 mine & quarry

Parish:
Abercorn, Linlithgowshire
Local authority:
West Lothian
Seams worked:
Pumpherston Shale
Opened:
1906
Closed:
1956
Current status of site:
Mine site restored and returned to agriculture
Regional overview:
Mines in the Duddingston area

duddingston3mineandquarry.jpg

Inclined adit

Serving Niddry Castle Crude Oil Works

A productive mine exploiting the Pumpherston Shales from beneath a substantial area of the Hopetoun Estate. Shale was transported to Niddry Castle Crude Oil Works by electric tramway.

Oil shale was also produced from a quarry lying north west of No.3 mine. Production records show 9,285 tons produced in 1920 (incomplete year), 16240 in 1921, 17,336 in 1922, 15,813 in 1923, 13151 in 1924, and 6,772 tons in 1925.

  • Location & workings at Duddingston No.3 mine & quarry

      • Show seams:

  • Detailed maps

    • Drawings

    Duddingston3MinePlan1.jpg Dudingston3MineStat.jpg
  • Newspaper references

      • The water has been very heavy, for a time the pump had to be withdrawn, but it has now been replaced (January 1925). A section of the mine has been closed on account of poor shale, but a new section is being opened up to take its place (April 1925).

      From Scottish Oils Ltd, Managing Director's Monthly Report to the Board. (BP Archive No. 215662)

  • External references

      • Coal Authority Mine Abandonment Catalogue No.15099, showing workings in the Jubilee, Curly, Wee and Plain Shales from Duddingston No. 3, abandoned in 1956.

  • Additional resources

      • Oral history transcript: Mr James Hanlon & Mr Irvine Hanlon

  • Related file records

    • Enquiry form