MineArchiveGreendykes South Mine
| Also known as | South Greendykes Mine |
|---|---|
| Location | South Greendykes, north of Broxburn, Uphall parish, West Lothian — 55.9457, -3.4672 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Oil Shale |
| Type | Mineral |
| Worked | Before 1878–1915 |
| Operators | Robert Bell (?–1878, owner) — Worked the first mine here before forming the Broxburn Oil Company Broxburn Oil Company Ltd (1878–1915, owner) — Owned the mine and the Broxburn oil works it supplied |
An inclined shale mine north of Broxburn, first worked by Robert Bell before he founded the Broxburn Oil Company in 1878, reopened by the company about 1898 to reach deeper seams and abandoned in 1915. Its site now lies under Greendykes bing.
Location
Approximate location. The large pin is this mine; the small round markers are the nearest mines on record. Click one for its page. View on full map
History
Shale was first worked at South Greendykes by Robert Bell of Clifton Hall, before he formed the Broxburn Oil Company in 1878. The mine was an inclined adit serving the company's oil works at Broxburn. The Mineral Statistics for 1883 and 1884 record it working the Broxburn Shale by stoop and room under the management of Alex Kennedy, with two men on the surface and eight underground; it was not a fiery mine and was ventilated by steam.
At the start of 1898 the Broxburn Oil Company was opening a new mine at South Greendykes, on the surface of one of the old mines Bell had worked out, to reach one of the deeper seams. In 1915 South Greendykes employed 73, 61 below ground and 12 on the surface. Its workings in the Broxburn, Grey and Curly Shales were abandoned in 1915, and the site has since been buried beneath Greendykes bing.
Geology
The Broxburn Shales: the Broxburn seam, and the Grey and Curly Shales by the time the workings were abandoned in 1915.
Workings
An inclined adit with a downcast and an upcast shaft, each 8 feet by 5, worked by stoop and room; a new mine was driven on the site about 1898 to the deeper seams.
Closure
The workings in the Broxburn, Grey and Curly Shales were abandoned in 1915.
What remains
The site lies buried beneath Greendykes bing.
None; the site is under the Greendykes bing.
Related mines
- Broxburn Oil Works — Greendykes South supplied shale to the Broxburn Oil Company's works at Broxburn.
Nearby mines
- Hopetoun No. 44 Mine — 0.2 miles (0.3 km) NE
- Dunnet Mine — 0.3 miles (0.5 km) SE
- Haycraigs Mines — 0.4 miles (0.6 km) W
- Stewartfield No. 1 Mine — 0.4 miles (0.7 km) S
- Hopetoun No. 5 Pit — 0.6 miles (0.9 km) NW
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.
- Shale was first worked at South Greendykes by Robert Bell, before he formed the Broxburn Oil Company in 1878. 1
- In 1883 and 1884 the mine worked the Broxburn Shale by stoop and room, with two men on the surface and eight underground, under Alex Kennedy. 1
- About 1898 the Broxburn Oil Company opened a new mine on the site of one of Bell's old mines to work a deeper seam. 1
- In 1915 South Greendykes employed 73, 61 below ground and 12 on the surface. 2
- The workings in the Broxburn, Grey and Curly Shales were abandoned in 1915. 1,3
Photographs & further reading
The Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry's page for the mine, with the 1916 OS map, site photographs, a newspaper extract and the abandonment reference.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Greendykes South mine (Scottish Shale) — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
- (primary) Broxburn (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS mine plan: GREENDYKES SOUTH, Broxburn seam, abandoned 1915 — British Geological Survey
Record created: 3 November 2026 · Last researched: 3 November 2026