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Pentland Mines (No.1 & No.2)

Straiton, Loanhead, Midlothian.

Mines (Oil shale), 19th Century.

"The principal mine in the southern part of the shale-field, established to serve Pentland Paraffin Oil Works... Mineral statistics (see below) for 1883 records that Pentland No.1 mine worked the Straiton main seam, seven foot in thickness, using stoop and room techniques. 16 were employed on the surface and 268 underground, under the management of R. Martin. The downcast and upcast shafts measured 12'x5' with a depth of 1,416. Considered a firery mine, it was ventilated by a fan 18'x6'. The report for 1884 included details for Pentland No.2 mine; collectively they employed 38 on the surface and 387 underground. A note indicated that the mines dipped at 1 in 2 and that 15 persons had been injured in their operation." [Scottish Shale]

Given coordinates for mine mouths place these under an industrial (car) yard.

Substantial opencast workings shown to W of works on the 1894 OS map (but absent from earlier editions). These may been opencast shale / limestone workings, clay workings for the adjacent brickworks (postdate 1894 map however), or alternatively sand pits.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: Given coordinates derived from BGS GeoIndex.