Wareham Oil and Candle Company

The trading name from 1862 of the Wareham shale works begun by Ferguson and Muschamp and developed by Wanostrocht & Co., which cut the mining ledge at Clavell’s Hard. It lit Wareham with 130 gas lamps, held a contract to light the streets of Paris, and produced about fifty tons of shale oil a month along with a fertiliser sold as Kimmeridge Guano, until its works burned down in 1872.

Mines operated

Record created: 6 September 2026 · Last researched: 6 September 2026