Philpstoun No. 7 Mine

Overview

A James Ross and Company shale mine near Bridgend, Linlithgow, whose long adit was driven through unproductive ground to the Champfleurie Shale north of the Linlithgow to Winchburgh road; worked from some time after 1896 until 1931.

History

Philpstoun No. 7 Mine was opened by James Ross and Company some time after 1896 to supply its Philpstoun Oil Works. Its adit travelled a substantial distance through unproductive ground to reach reserves of Champfleurie Shale north of the Linlithgow to Winchburgh road. The winding engine house appears to have stood beside the mineral railway that linked the Philpstoun works with Philpstoun No. 4 and Champfleurie No. 3 Mines, and from it a surface haulage ran north inside an existing shelter belt of trees, entering the ground close to the Bridgend rows. The surviving plans are hard to interpret, but the mine seems to have worked shale formerly worked by the failed Linlithgow Oil Company Ltd. The Ordnance Survey of about 1916 shows its entrance.

The firm later traded as James Ross & Co. (Philpstoun Works) Ltd. No. 7's workings were abandoned in 1931. The site is now woodland: much of the route of the haulage survives, the adit is marked by a depression, and a fragment of brickwork there may be part of its lining.

Geology

The Champfleurie Shale (the Champfleurie Dunnet on the abandonment plan) of the Champfleurie, Philpstoun and Blackness shale-fields; the Coal Authority catalogue lists the workings as Broxburn Shale.

Workings

An inclined shaft or adit driven a long way through unproductive ground, worked by a winding engine beside the Philpstoun mineral railway through a surface haulage running north to the mine mouth.

Closure

Workings abandoned in 1931.

What remains

Woodland.

Much of the route of the haulage, a depression at the site of the adit, and a fragment of structural brickwork, perhaps the adit lining.

Related mines

• Philpstoun No. 1 Mine — Both were James Ross and Company mines supplying the Philpstoun Oil Works.

What's uncertain

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

• A surface haulage ran north from a winding engine house beside the mineral railway, entering the ground near the Bridgend rows. (uncertain) ¹
• The mine appears to have worked shale formerly worked by the Linlithgow Oil Company. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• No. 7's adit travelled a substantial distance through unproductive ground to reach Champfleurie Shale north of the Linlithgow to Winchburgh road. ¹
• A surface haulage ran north from a winding engine house beside the mineral railway, entering the ground near the Bridgend rows. (uncertain) ¹
• The mine appears to have worked shale formerly worked by the Linlithgow Oil Company. (uncertain) ¹
• No. 7's workings were abandoned in 1931. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Philpstoun No.7 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
2. (primary) BGS mine plan: PHILPSTOUN NO.7, Champfleurie Dunnet seam, abandoned 1931 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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