Philpstoun No. 5 Mine

Overview

A short-lived shale mine of James Ross and Co., opened in 1898 on a hill above Ecclesmachan to feed their Philpstoun Oil Works, and driven down the Broxburn shale to 150 fathoms. An explosion in January 1907 killed three young miners. It was abandoned in 1911, and only shale in the plough-soil marks it now.

History

James Ross and Co. built Philpstoun Oil Works, near Linlithgow, in the 1880s. At the start of 1898 they were opening a new field by a mine above Ecclesmachan, with a new branch railway to the works, and No. 5 mine was driven from the outcrop of the Broxburn shale on the east side of the Little Ochiltree basin, near Drumforth. It went in steeply and then at about one in four as the workings advanced north-west, reaching 150 fathoms below the surface by 1906.

On the afternoon of 28 January 1907 an explosion of gas in the mine brought down part of a roadway roof, and the three young miners behind it were found dead of asphyxia (see Disasters, below).

The mine's Broxburn and Upper Broxburn shale workings were abandoned in 1911, and the mine and its railway were cleared before the Ordnance Survey of 1916. The site has returned to farmland, with only shale in the plough-soil and some railway earthworks in the woods.

Geology

The Broxburn shale and Upper Broxburn shale on the east side of the Little Ochiltree basin, dipping steeply at the outcrop and then at about one in four to the north-west.

Workings

An inclined adit (mine) from the outcrop, with a branch of the standard-gauge railway serving the Philpstoun mines and probably a tramway bringing shale down from the mine.

Closure

Abandoned in 1911; the surface works and railway were dismantled before 1916.

What remains

The site has returned to agriculture; only shale in the plough-soil marks it.

Minor railway earthworks in woodland.

Redevelopment

Returned to farmland.

Disasters & major incidents

• Philpstoun No. 5 Mine explosion, 1907
  28 January 1907 · Explosion · 3 fatalities
  On the afternoon of 28 January 1907 gas exploded in No. 5 shale mine of James Ross and Co., Philpstoun Oil Works, on the hill above Ecclesmachan. Part of the roadway roof came down, and when rescuers cleared it they found the three miners beyond it, all about twenty and unmarried, dead of asphyxia.

Recorded claims

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

• In January 1898 James Ross and Co. were opening a new field by a mine above Ecclesmachan, with a new branch line to the works. ¹
• The mine followed the Broxburn shale from its outcrop to 150 fathoms below the surface. ¹
• No. 5 mine belonged to James Ross and Co. of Philpstoun Oil Works. ^2,3,4
• An explosion in No. 5 mine on 28 January 1907 killed three miners. ^2,4,5
• The Broxburn and Upper Broxburn workings were abandoned in 1911. ^1,6

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Shale: Philpstoun No. 5 mine — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
2. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Lothians accidents 1901-1914 — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Scottish Shale: Philpstoun Oil Works — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Philpstoun, No.5, 1907 (Fleming) — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Philpstoun, No.5, 1907 (Donnelly) — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Philpstoun No. 5, Broxburn and Upper Broxburn, abandoned 1911 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026