Limefield No. 32 Mine

Overview

A Young's Paraffin Company shale mine at West Calder working the Dunnet Shale for Addiewell, first worked about 1880 to 1892, reopened about 1900 under the Charlesfield estate and abandoned as exhausted in 1923.

History

Limefield No. 32 Mine, at West Calder, worked the Dunnet Shale for Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company's Addiewell works, in association with Polbeth No. 31 Pit. It was probably opened about 1880 with vertical shafts, and the first workings, shared with Polbeth No. 31, were abandoned about 1892; the Ordnance Survey of about 1895 shows two abandoned shafts with headgear.

About 1900 the mine was reconstructed, now with inclined adits, and its workings extended into Dunnet Shale lying beneath the Charlesfield estate. An explosives store was licensed there in 1908. It employed 79 in 1915 and 73 in 1920 and 1923. In December 1923 Scottish Oils reported that No. 32 had been abandoned as exhausted and its men transferred to other mines nearby. The site is now farmland and a playground, with no surface features left.

Geology

The Dunnet Shale of the Polbeth and Gavieside shale-field, extending beneath the Charlesfield estate.

Workings

Vertical shafts at first, later inclined adits; first workings shared with Polbeth No. 31 Pit.

Closure

First workings abandoned about 1892; reopened about 1900 and abandoned as exhausted in 1923, the men moving to neighbouring mines.

What remains

Agricultural land and a playground; no surface features survive.

None.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The mine was reconstructed about 1900 and extended beneath the Charlesfield estate. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Limefield No. 32 worked the Dunnet Shale with Polbeth No. 31; their workings were abandoned about 1892. ¹
• The mine was reconstructed about 1900 and extended beneath the Charlesfield estate. (uncertain) ¹
• No. 32 employed 79 in 1915 and 73 in 1923. ²
• In December 1923 the mine was abandoned as exhausted and its men transferred to neighbouring mines. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Limefield No.32 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
2. (primary) Limefield (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

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