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Rough Mussel Pit

Househill Park, Roughmussel, City of Glasgow (Renfrewshire).

Ironstone mine, 19th-20th? Century (site of).

Alternative Names: Roughmussel Pit

Notes: Shown as Ironstone Pit on OS 6" 1st Ed. map. Appears to have been in use according to symbol choice on 1909 geol. survey map (suggesting use into early 20th Century), but absent from 1897 2nd edition maps.

Now located under grassland in Househill Park, near to northern bank of the Levern Water.

"Househill Clayhands - These claybands take their name from the farm of Househill, which lies slightly over two-thirds of a mile N of Nitshill Station. They occur in the Lower Limestone Group between the Blackball and Hurlet Limestones. The strata between these limestones consist of blaes below which lie a number of clayband ironstone ribs varying in thickness from 2 to 14 in., and somewhat calcareous in character. These ribs are thicker and more abundant in the upper part of the blaes, and two main ironstone horizons have been distinguished as the Upper and Lower Househill Claybands respectively. The former usually lies 8 to 12 ft. under the Blackhall Limestone, the latter some 4 t" 6 fms. lower. The thickest of these claybands recorded in different shaft and bore sections are not necessarily, however, on exactly the same horizon...

... The Househill Claybands are typically developed in the Hurlet-Nitshill district of Renfrewshire. They were formerly wrought from several pits lying along the Levern Water to the east of Hurlet, and are still raised at Messrs. Baird's Victoria Pits close to Nitshill Station. The sections recorded at the old Roughmussel and Turnberry No. 1 Pits (Renfrew, 12 S.E.) are as follows..." [BGS Memoirs]

"It was stated that the presence of various kinds of seashells gave the name of 'Roughmussell' to the miners' row on the Levern." *[Nitshill Memories]

8 fig. coordinates determined using OS geolocation tool (geological map), supported by MRA map.