Deans No. 7 Mine

Location	Deans, Livingston, West Lothian — 55.8958, -3.5915 (approximate)
Commodity	Oil Shale
Type	Mineral
Worked	By 1915–1931
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Pumpherston Oil Company

Overview

A Pumpherston Oil Company shale mine at Deans, near Livingston, which worked the Fells and Broxburn shales for the Deans crude oil works from before 1915 until its abandonment in 1931.

History

Deans No. 7 Mine was an inclined adit at Deans, near Livingston, serving the Pumpherston Oil Company's Deans crude oil works, and was worked in association with Deans No. 6 Mine. It was in production by 1915, when it employed 66 working the Fells Shale, and the Ordnance Survey of about 1916 shows it in operation. In 1920 it employed 103, working the Broxburn and Fells shales.

Scottish Oils' reports show the difficulties of the thin seams. In March 1923 the old No. 6 Mine was re-entered from No. 7 to test the Broxburn shale, without encouraging results because the thin seam made working dear; the pumping at No. 7 was improved that November with a spare pump from one of the Broxburn mines, and further faults were met beyond those already crossed. Joseph Wallace was killed by a fall of shale in 1922 and Alexander Scoular in 1927. The mine was abandoned in 1931, and its site is now waste ground with no trace of the workings.

Geology

The Fells Shale and the thin Broxburn Shale of the Deans shale-field, broken by faults.

Workings

An inclined adit, worked with Deans No. 6 Mine, which was re-entered from No. 7 in 1923.

Closure

Abandoned in 1931.

What remains

Waste ground; no trace of the mine.

None.

Nearby mines

Starlaw Shale Pit — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) SE
Mosside Colliery — 1.9 miles (3.0 km) W
Balbardie Colliery — 2.0 miles (3.3 km) NW
Hilderston Silver Mine — 2.0 miles (3.3 km) NW
Riddochhill Colliery — 2.2 miles (3.5 km) SW

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.

Deans No. 7 Mine served the Deans crude oil works and was worked with Deans No. 6 Mine. ¹
No. 7 employed 66 in 1915, working the Fells Shale, and 103 in 1920. ²
In 1923 the old No. 6 Mine was re-entered from No. 7 to test the thin Broxburn shale. ¹
The mine was abandoned in 1931. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Deans No.7 mine (Scottish Shale) (reference)

The Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry's page for this mine, with maps, plans, photographs of the site and newspaper extracts.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Deans No.7 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
(primary) Deans (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026