MineArchiveDeans No. 5 Mine
| Location | Tailend, Deans, west Livingston, West Lothian — 55.8933, -3.5696 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Oil Shale |
| Type | Mineral |
| Worked | c. 1908–1931 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Pumpherston Oil Company |
Overview
A Pumpherston Oil Company shale mine on Tailend Farm at Deans, opened about 1908 for the rebuilt Deans crude oil works and driven through barren ground to the Jubilee shale beneath western Livingston; its last workings were abandoned in 1931.
History
Deans No. 5 Mine was one of the new mines opened by the Pumpherston Oil Company to serve its reconstructed Deans Crude Oil Works near Bathgate. In July 1908 the West Lothian Courier reported a third mine, No. 5, also on Tailend Farm, being got ready in view of the new works then being built. It was driven through barren ground to reach the Jubilee seam of the Pumpherston Shale lying beneath what is now western Livingston. Smaller workings in the Barracks and Dunnet shales close to their outcrop were soon exhausted and were abandoned in 1912; a small area of Barracks Shale west of the mine head appears to have been worked as early as 1866.
The mine returns group No. 5 with No. 4 in 1915, when the two employed 373, and with No. 3 in 1920, when they employed 354 and worked the Dunnet and Jubilee shales. No. 5's workings in the Jubilee Shale were abandoned in 1931. The site is now landscaped open space, with masonry and rubble near the mine head.
Geology
The Jubilee seam of the Pumpherston Shales beneath western Livingston, reached through barren ground; also the Barracks and Dunnet shales near their outcrop.
Workings
An inclined adit driven through barren ground to the Jubilee seam, with short-lived workings in the Barracks and Dunnet shales.
Closure
Barracks and Dunnet workings abandoned in 1912; Jubilee workings abandoned in 1931.
What remains
Landscaped open space.
Masonry and rubble close to the site of the mine head.
Related mines
- Deans No. 7 Mine — Both were Pumpherston Oil Company mines feeding the rebuilt Deans crude oil works.
Nearby mines
- Starlaw Shale Pit — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) SW
- Deans No. 7 Mine — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) W
- Gavieside No. 40 Mine — 1.6 miles (2.6 km) S
- Alderstone No. 43 Mine — 2.0 miles (3.1 km) SE
- Limefield No. 32 Mine — 2.1 miles (3.4 km) S
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- In July 1908 No. 5 was being got ready on Tailend Farm for the new Deans works. 1
- No. 5 was driven through barren ground to the Jubilee seam beneath western Livingston. 1
- Deans Nos. 4 and 5 together employed 373 in 1915. 2
- The Barracks and Dunnet workings were abandoned in 1912 and the Jubilee workings in 1931. 1,3,4
Photographs & further reading
The Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry's page for this mine, with maps, plans, site photographs and newspaper extracts.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Deans No.5 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
- (primary) Deans (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS mine plan: DEANS NO.5, Jubilee seam, abandoned 1931 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
- (primary) BGS mine plan: DEANS NO.5, Upper Dunnet, Dunnet, Barracks and No.1 or Jubilee, abandoned 1912 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026