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Addiewell No.1 Pit

Addiewell, West Calder, Midlothian (West Lothian).

Mine (Oil Shale, Coal), c.1870s.

"No. 1 Pit appears to have been sunk to exploit the Houston Coal. A cross-cut mine was then driven from the coal workings to access reserves of Fells Shale. This shale was also exploited by Addiewell No. 2 Pit, Addiewell No. 5 Pit and Addiewell No. 6 Pit, and presumably their workings linked underground. These workings seem to have been extended north eastwards, by means of cross cut mine through a fault, to a small area of Fells Shale beneath Tenantsmarch, which in turn was linked to the workings of Polbeth No. 10 Pit. Mining plans suggest that Houston Coal workings were abandoned in 1867, but that Fells Shale continued to be worked until 1883. A report from 1870 (see snippets) indicates that the shaft of No. 1 was used to pump water from No. 2 Pit into the nearby reservoir..." [Scottish Shale]

Site now within wooded landscaped area. No trace remains of surface structures. Given length of 1.2km relates to distance between S and NE extremities of the pillar-and-stall mine system (approx. [NT 0027 6239] to [0034 6342], respectively). Combined length of passages will be significantly longer.

Alternative Names: Addiewell Chemical Works No. 1 Shaft

Notes: Operated by James Young & Co., serving the Addiewell oil works.

Separate site to 'Addiewell No.1 Mine' (Site 8267). Given depth is a minimum depth (34 fathoms to coal, 51 fathoms [93m] to shale). 8 fig. NGR is for surface features of the pit on c.1893 OS map.

Given coordinates derived from BGS GeoIndex. Description of mine extent based on digitised plan outline shown on Scottish Shale website.