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Birkhill No.3 Mine

NW of Linlithgow, River Avon, Birkhill, West Lothian.

Fire Clay Mine.

"Birkhill No.3 Mine. Note: the mine is now closed [as seen in 2015, blocked by brick walls]. From the old works, descend by the footpath opposite the former manager's cottage until it joins the old cable tramway and then cross the bridge over the river, built wide enough to allow fox hunts across. The mine adit is driven into the south side of the Avon valley at the outcrop of the Lower Fireclays. On entering the mine, in operation from 1932 to 1981, note the height of the roadway and galleries of four to five metres. Here the roof of the mine is formed by a very siliceous, medium to coarse-grained, white sandstone, over 6 m thick, a lithology which typifies the Passage Group. Powerful lamps reveal in the sandstone roof many fossilised tree trunks which collected together as log jams in the Namurian rivers. Stumps of large trees can be seen rooted in the fireclay and protruding upwards into the sandstone.

About 125 m into the mine the roof of the roadway rises abruptly to about 8 m and a fault, trending westwards with a downthrow to the north of 3 m, may be seen. A little farther on, just before the water­logged area of the mine, enter the side galleries to study the size of the rooms and the clay pillars left in to support the roof. This style of extraction is called stoop and room, or pillar and stall, working and about 40% of the seam is normally removed. The roof and floor of the mine are in good condition, the only noticeable erosion being where some blocks of clay have fallen from the walls." [McArthur, 1996]

Extent shown in abandonment plan (see refs).

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: Mine operated by Peter & Mark Hurll Ltd, abandoned in 1981.