MineArchiveHopetoun No. 6 (Glendevon) Mines
| Also known as | Glendevon Mines |
|---|---|
| Location | Glendevon, west of Winchburgh, West Lothian — 55.9616, -3.4838 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Oil Shale |
| Type | Mineral |
| Worked | By 1896–1957 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company |
Overview
Young's Paraffin Company's three-adit shale mine at Glendevon near Winchburgh, whose faces stretched two-thirds of a mile by 1906, which employed over 360 in 1920 and worked the Broxburn Shale until 1957.
History
Hopetoun No. 6, the Glendevon mines, lay at the west end of the Winchburgh shale-field and supplied Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company's Hopetoun Oil Works by a standard-gauge railway. It was a substantial working with three adits starting from a common centre, one driven straight down the dip and two slightly oblique. The Ordnance Survey of about 1896 already shows two adits diverging into the ground, and a powder magazine was licensed there in 1904. By 1906 the Geological Survey described its working faces as extending two-thirds of a mile, connected with a pit 72 fathoms deep at Trinlymire.
No. 6 was the largest of the Hopetoun workings in the early twentieth century, employing 197 in 1915 and 366 in 1920. Its workings were eventually linked underground with Hopetoun No. 35 Pit. Numbers fell to 138 in 1933, rose to 175 in 1940 and were 85 in 1954. Oil shale was also dug from a Glendevon quarry just after the Second World War. The mine's workings in the Broxburn Main and Upper Grey shales were abandoned in 1957; the site now holds a garage, workshop and houses.
Geology
The Broxburn Shale group (Broxburn Main and Upper Grey shales) of the Winchburgh shale-field.
Workings
Three inclined adits from a common centre, one down the dip and two oblique, with faces two-thirds of a mile long by 1906; connected with a 72-fathom pit at Trinlymire and later with Hopetoun No. 35 Pit; a standard-gauge railway to Hopetoun Oil Works.
Closure
Workings abandoned in 1957.
What remains
The site holds a garage, workshop and private houses.
Related mines
- Hopetoun No. 35 Pit — Hopetoun No. 6's workings were ultimately linked underground with No. 35 Pit.
Nearby mines
- Hopetoun No. 35 Pit — 0.8 miles (1.3 km) W
- Hopetoun No. 41 Mine — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) NW
- Philpstoun No. 6 (Whitequarries) Mine — 1.3 miles (2.0 km) N
- Philpstoun No. 1 Mine — 1.7 miles (2.7 km) NW
- Philpstoun No. 7 Mine — 1.9 miles (3.0 km) W
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.
- Hopetoun No. 6 had three adits from a common centre, and by 1906 its working faces extended two-thirds of a mile. 1
- No. 6 employed 197 in 1915 and 366 in 1920. 2
- Its workings were ultimately linked underground with Hopetoun No. 35 Pit. 1
- The workings were abandoned in 1957. 1
- The abandonment plan of Hopetoun No. 6 in the Broxburn Main and Upper Grey shales is dated 1957. 3
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) Hopetoun No.6 (Glendevon) mines (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
- (primary) Hopetoun (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) BGS mine plan: HOPETOUN NO.6, Broxburn Main and Upper Grey, abandoned 1957 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026