Haycraigs Mines

Overview

Inclined mines at the outcrop of the Broxburn Shales north of Broxburn, worked by the Broxburn Oil Company from before 1882 until 1919, where a firedamp explosion killed four men in 1882; the ground was later opencast until 1959.

History

Haycraigs, also written Hayscraigs, was a series of inclined mines at the outcrop of the Broxburn Shales north of Broxburn, serving the Broxburn Oil Company's works. On 23 August 1882 an explosion of firedamp burned four men: the overman Francis Danks, the fireman John Neil and the miners John Immery and John Steven. Danks and Neil had gone with naked lights into a place they knew to be unventilated, and all four lived more than a week after the accident. In 1883 the mine worked the Broxburn Shale by stoop and room under the management of Alex Kennedy, employing 113 below ground and 20 above, and 175 and 25 in 1884. Its fiery workings were ventilated by a fan, with a downcast shaft of 7 by 7 feet, an upcast of 9 by 6 feet and a second downcast of 6 by 6 feet.

In January 1910 lightning struck the 130-foot chimney stalk serving the two winding-engine boilers, demolishing about 30 feet of it, and then ran down the steel winding rope into the engine house and the mine, giving the engineman and a man underground a severe shock; the mine stood for some weeks. Haycraigs employed 178 in 1915. Its workings, latterly linked with those of Pyothall No. 5 Pit, in the Curly, Broxburn and Grey shales were abandoned in 1919, and the mine area was later opencast. A further phase of opencast working began soon after the Second World War and ran until 1959 from two quarries, Haycraigs A and B. The land has since been restored to agriculture.

Geology

The Broxburn Shales (Curly, Broxburn and Grey) at their outcrop in the Broxburn district; the workings were fiery.

Workings

A series of inclined mines at the outcrop, with downcast and upcast shafts and a ventilating fan; a steam winding engine with two boilers and a 130-foot chimney; later the opencast quarries Haycraigs A and B.

Closure

The underground workings were abandoned in 1919 and the area was later opencast; the last opencast quarrying ended in 1959.

What remains

The land surface has been restored to agriculture.

A bing of mine waste spilling into a valley.

Related mines

• Broxburn Oil Works — Haycraigs supplied shale to the Broxburn Oil Company's works.

Disasters & major incidents

• Hayscraig Mine explosion, 1882
  23 August 1882 · Explosion · 4 fatalities

  On 23 August 1882 an explosion of firedamp in the Broxburn Oil Company's Hayscraig shale mine at Broxburn burned four men, all of whom died more than a week later: the overman Francis Danks, the fireman John Neil and the miners John Immery and John Steven.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• On 23 August 1882 an explosion of firedamp at Hayscraig mine fatally burned four men, after the overman and fireman went with naked lights into an unventilated place. ^1,2
• In 1883 the mine worked the Broxburn Shale by stoop and room, employing 113 below ground and 20 above, and its fiery workings were ventilated by a fan. ³
• In January 1910 lightning destroyed part of the 130-foot chimney stalk and travelled down the winding rope into the mine. ³
• Haycraigs employed 178 in 1915. ²
• The workings in the Curly, Broxburn and Grey shales, with those of Pyothall No. 5 Pit, were abandoned in 1919. ^3,4

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: deaths 1882 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) Broxburn (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Hayscraigs mines and quarries (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: HAYSCRAIGS PYOTHALL NO.5, Broxburn seam, abandoned 1919 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 26 October 2026 · Last researched: 26 October 2026