Roman Camp No. 2 Mines

Overview

Two Broxburn Oil Company shale mines on the steep eastern arm of the Pumpherston anticline near Roman Camp: an older north mine abandoned in 1893 and reopened before 1916 alongside a new south mine, the pair worked together until 1930.

History

Roman Camp No. 2 Mine, latterly called No. 2 (North), worked the steeply inclined Pumpherston Shales on the eastern arm of the Pumpherston anticline near Roman Camp, Broxburn. Its first workings, in the Curly, Plain and Under or Wee shales, were abandoned in 1893, the year the Broxburn Oil Company's new Roman Camp Oil Works came into full production, and the Ordnance Survey of about 1896 marks an 'old mine' on the site, apparently an eastward-facing adit in line with the outcrop. By about 1916 the mine was working again through the same adit, with three new waste tips, together with a new No. 2 (South) Mine a little to the south, an inclined adit dipping at 56 degrees, joined to the north mine by a tramway. The seams here were so steep that they made working difficult.

In 1913 fire broke out in the No. 2 mine, which was still closed three weeks later, though most of its men had found work in the company's other mines. No. 2 employed 88 people in 1915, 151 in 1920 and 127 in 1923. The workings of both mines in the Jubilee, Curly, Plain and Wee shales were abandoned in 1930. The north site was later redeveloped for Roman Camp No. 6 Mine and lies under the road that linked it with the works; at the south site, shale fragments and timber baulks lie among the trees.

Geology

The Pumpherston Shales (Jubilee, Curly, Plain and Wee), steeply inclined on the eastern arm of the Pumpherston anticline.

Workings

No. 2 (North): an eastward-facing inclined adit on the outcrop, reused when the mine reopened. No. 2 (South): an inclined adit dipping at 56 degrees, joined to the north mine by a tramway.

Closure

The first workings were abandoned in 1893; the reopened north mine and the south mine were abandoned together in 1930.

What remains

Waste and derelict land; the north site lies beneath a road built for Roman Camp No. 6 Mine.

Shale fragments and timber baulks, perhaps from a tramway staging, at the south mine site.

Related mines

• Roman Camp No. 6 Mine — Roman Camp No. 6 Mine was built on the site of No. 2 (North).

Recorded claims

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

• The first workings of Roman Camp No. 2, in the Curly, Plain and Under or Wee shales, were abandoned in 1893. ^1,2
• By about 1916 the north mine was working again through its old adit, together with a new south mine whose adit dipped at 56 degrees. ^1,3
• A fire in the No. 2 mine in 1913 closed it for some weeks. ¹
• No. 2 employed 88 in 1915, 151 in 1920 and 127 in 1923. ⁴
• The workings of the north and south mines were abandoned together in 1930. ^1,3,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Roman Camp (north) No.2 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
2. (primary) BGS mine plan: ROMAN CAMP NO.2, Curly, Plain, Under or Wee seams, abandoned 1893 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
3. (secondary) Roman Camp (south) No.2 mine (Scottish Shale, Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry) — Almond Valley Heritage Trust
4. (primary) Roman Camp (Oil Shale) (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: ROMAN CAMP NO.2 SOUTH NO.2, Jubilee, Curly, Wee and Plain seams, abandoned 1930 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 26 October 2026 · Last researched: 26 October 2026