Map with: Google Map, or OS Explorer Map from Streetmap.co.uk
Boghall No.2 Pit Boghall No.4 Pit Boghall No.3 Pit Cousland No.1 Mine
Go to the Main Scottish Cave and Mine Database Search Page
Starlaw, Seafield, Blackburn, West Lothian.
| NGR: | NT 00710 67103 |
| WGS84: | 55.88680, -3.58897 |
| Length: | 800 m |
| Vert. Range: | 66 m |
| Altitude: | 155 m |
| Geology: | Barracks Shale, Fells Shale |
| Tags: | Mine, Shaft, ManMade, Archaeo, Lost |
| Registry: | second |
Mine (Oil Shale), opened 1867 / closed pre-1895.
"The first of a number of pits supplying shale to the Boghall (Starlaw) Shale Oil Works that operated between 1868 and 1882. It seems probable that Boghall No. 1 Pit was "Starlaw Pit", scene of the Starlaw disaster, one of the shale oil industry's most tragic accidents. Boghall No. 1 Pit exploited the Fells Shale; it seems possible that the shaft also accessed the Barracks Shale by means of a cross cut mine; this detail is unclear on mining plans." [Scottish Shale]
Site of shaft now occupied by field at N end of significant woodland-covered bing.
Alternative Names: Starlaw Pit, Starlaw No.1 Pit
Notes: Given coordinates derived from BGS GeoIndex. Geol. Survey map states Fells Shale at 36 fms [66m].
Given length approx. distance between mine system's easternmost & westernmost extremities (based on digitised plan on Scottish Shale).
Links and Resources:
This entry was last updated: 2026-02-20 04:49:43
Errors or omissions in this information? Submit corrections/additions/comments for this entry to the registrars.
All database content Copyright 2026 Grampian Speleological Group.
Web Registry software by Matt Voysey.