Hopetoun No. 5 Pit

Location	Near Winchburgh, west of the Hopetoun Oil Works, West Lothian — 55.9525, -3.4760 (approximate)
Commodity	Oil Shale
Type	Mineral
Worked	1883–1946
Operators	Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company (owner) — Owner (Scottish Shale)

Overview

A Young's Paraffin Company shale pit near Winchburgh, worked in the Broxburn Shale from 1883 to 1891 and reopened in 1935 as war approached, until it was abandoned in 1946; a house now stands on the raised ground of the pit.

A low single-storey building with red shutters and red chimney cones stands in front of a shale bing. — The former miners' bathhouse at the site of Hopetoun Oil Works, which No. 5 Pit supplied Greg Fitchett, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

History

Hopetoun No. 5 Pit was a working of Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company in the Broxburn Shale, supplying its Hopetoun Oil Works near Winchburgh. It opened in 1883, and its workings in the Broxburn Shale, recorded on the abandonment plan as Hopetoun No. 5 (Glendevon), were abandoned in 1891. The Ordnance Survey of about 1897 shows the pit disused but its surface buildings apparently still standing.

Like Hopetoun No. 4, it was reopened in 1935 in the years before the Second World War, and its workings in the Broxburn Main, Upper and Grey shales were finally abandoned in 1946. In January 1947 the Dundee Evening Telegraph reported that James Fairlie, 56, of East Burnside, Broxburn, had been killed when he collapsed in the pit at 'No 5 shalepit, Threemiletown' and slipped through the guard of the cage and down the shaft. The site, an elevated platform of ground, now holds a private house.

Geology

The Broxburn Shales (Main, Upper and Grey) of the Broxburn district.

Workings

Probably a vertical shaft, worked in two periods, 1883-1891 and 1935-1946.

Closure

First abandoned in 1891; reopened in 1935 and finally abandoned in 1946.

What remains

A private house stands on the site.

The raised platform of the pit site.

Related mines

Hopetoun No. 6 (Glendevon) Mines — Both were Young's Paraffin Company workings in the Broxburn Shales for Hopetoun Oil Works; No. 5's 1891 plan bears the Glendevon name also given to No. 6.

Nearby mines

Hopetoun No. 44 Mine — 0.5 miles (0.8 km) SE
Hopetoun No. 6 (Glendevon) Mines — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) NW
Broxburn Oil Works — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) S
Hopetoun No. 35 Pit — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) NW
Hopetoun No. 41 Mine — 1.8 miles (2.8 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.

No. 5 was worked from 1883 to 1891 and again from 1935 to 1946. ¹
Its first workings, recorded as Hopetoun No. 5 (Glendevon), were abandoned in 1891. ^1,2
The later workings in the Broxburn Main, Upper and Grey shales were abandoned in 1946. ^1,3
In January 1947 a miner, James Fairlie, was killed when he collapsed and slipped through the cage guard down the shaft of 'No 5 shalepit, Threemiletown'. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Hopetoun No.5 pit (Scottish Shale) (reference)

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

View source

Sources

(secondary) Hopetoun No.5 pit (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
(primary) BGS mine plan: HOPETOUN NO.5 (GLENDEVON), Broxburn seam, abandoned 1891 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
(primary) BGS mine plan: HOPETOUN NO.5, Broxburn Main, Upper and Grey seams, abandoned 1946 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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