Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry

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Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry Custodians of a nationally-significant museum collection from Scotland's shale oil industry giving an insight into West Lothians fascinating history.

The Scottish shale oil industry has an interesting and important history. Bathgate works, established in 1851, was perhaps the first site in the world where mineral oils were processed on an industrial scale. From this blossomed an extensive oil industry that competed successfully against cheaper imported petroleum for many years, and continued in operation until 1962. Such fierce competition bred innovation, progress, and a body of Scots know-how that contributed much towards the development of the oil industry throughout the world. This page has been created to celebrate, exchange knowledge, and encourage research into this special heritage. We hope that the resource will be of particular value to those researching family histories.

Interested in developing your skills? Fascinated by history?Have some spare time?Why not come and join our band of volun...
11/09/2023

Interested in developing your skills?

Fascinated by history?

Have some spare time?

Why not come and join our band of volunteers who support the work of the museum and contribute so much towards the development of our website!

We have a substantial programme of work ahead of us, centred on the transcription and digitisation of archives held by the museum, and the sharing of these resources with a world-wide audience through this website. Our study centre at Almond Valley is equipped with the latest technology, but progress depends of the availability of many willing hands to contribute towards our ambitious task.

Further enthusiastic and committed volunteers are always welcome. For those able to work at our study centre in Livingston, we can offer a range of tasks according to your interests and skills. These include: Transcription and data entry, Scanning and digitisation, Historical research, Library and cataloguing work, Response to research enquiries, Preparing digital content.

To find out more and to get in touch, please head to our website: https://scottishshale.co.uk/introduction/volunteer/

Our object of the month is this battery-less underground mine telephone, which has been paint marked "New Heriot Watt". ...
08/09/2023

Our object of the month is this battery-less underground mine telephone, which has been paint marked "New Heriot Watt". Made by telephone manufacture company Airdrie and Bellshill.

It has a Bakelite handpiece and flameproof hand-powered dynamo within a steel box carrying a plate inscribed: "Battery-less telephone, Type L51 Telephone Mfg. Co. Ltd. Ministry of Fuel & Power, cert. t/tel/85 2nd Nov 1948".

This month's Foto Friday is this black and white photographic negative showing boys making cartons at Broxburn Candlewor...
01/09/2023

This month's Foto Friday is this black and white photographic negative showing boys making cartons at Broxburn Candleworks.

Candles and a range of wax products were produced in great quantities by Young's company at Addiewell and the Broxburn company at Broxburn.

This photograph appears to be of Broxburn candleworks and shows boys gluing, assembling and filling cardboard boxes, with plain candles.

Candles continued to be produced at Broxburn until c. 1958.

Last week our curator attended training as part of a series of training days organised by Go Industrial. We got to go be...
31/08/2023

Last week our curator attended training as part of a series of training days organised by Go Industrial. We got to go behind the scenes at the Museum of Scottish Railways and learn about the care of metals. Brilliant to catch up with staff from other museums in the Go Industrial network and to get up close to these magnificent engines!

This month we are shining the spotlight on Deans Oil Works!The West Lothian Oil Company Ltd was formed in 1883 to constr...
27/08/2023

This month we are shining the spotlight on Deans Oil Works!

The West Lothian Oil Company Ltd was formed in 1883 to construct a crude oil works at Deans which would serve an existing refinery owned by the company at Braehead (Benhar) near Fauldhouse. The enterprise was not successful and discussion at Shareholder's Meetings were of unsound management, defective retorts and equipment, and dubious practice by Directors. When the Company failed in 1891, the liquidator noted: "that the Company spent large sums of money, sinking pits, and providing machinery etc. for shale oil workings at Boghall and erecting works for the distillation of shale and manufacturing of crude oil. The operations of the Company had been unsuccessful and the Company had incurred large losses." The West Lothian Oil Company Ltd built housing for its workforce at Deans.

After a period of disuse, the site and mineral leases were acquired by the Pumpherston Oil Company Ltd who constructed a new crude oil works on the site and developed new mines to the south and east of the works (Deans No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6 & No. 7). The company also constructed a substantial new village at Livingston Station to house its workforce, served with electrical power from the works. Crude oil was transported to Pumpherston for refining. Production continued until c.1948, and most of the site cleared other than the office block and the 1930's bath-house which survived into the 1990's.

In the early 1950's the oil works site was taken over by the Royal Engineers who constructed a range of steel framed storage buildings that remain in use (2013) as commercial storage units. The Deans bing was cleared during the late 1970's, much of the blaes being transported by rail to the Renfrewshire area for use in construction of the M8.

Does anyone remember the baths before they were demolished?

One of our new acquisitions is this fabulous piece of Upperdunnet shale from Oakbank, carved to look like a book. The fr...
23/08/2023

One of our new acquisitions is this fabulous piece of Upperdunnet shale from Oakbank, carved to look like a book. The front is engraved with 'Sample of Upperdunnet from Oakbank Pit 1891' and the reverse is engraved with diagram of shale seam. Carved areas are highlighted with gold paint. It's possible that the carving may have been done by a mining engineer as a technical record.

To find out more about the carvings we have: https://scottishshale.co.uk/stories/carved-in-shale/

This is also on display in our summer temporary exhibition entitled 'The Art of Shale Ornaments', on until October.

Why not pop in and see it in person?

This month's object of the month is this stiff black top hat with felt band, which belonged to Joseph Morrison who lived...
18/08/2023

This month's object of the month is this stiff black top hat with felt band, which belonged to Joseph Morrison who lived in Livingston Station and worked at Deans Crude Oil Works.

The second image is of the man himself, taken outside the boiler house at Deans Crude Oil Works, c. 1910.

We can't always put a face to the person who used or owned an object but it is so lovely when we can!

Interested in developing your skills? Fascinated by history?Have some spare time?Why not come and join our band of volun...
16/08/2023

Interested in developing your skills?
Fascinated by history?
Have some spare time?

Why not come and join our band of volunteers who support the work of the museum and contribute so much towards the development of our website!

We have a substantial programme of work ahead of us, centred on the transcription and digitisation of archives held by the museum, and the sharing of these resources with a world-wide audience through this website. Our study centre at Almond Valley is equipped with the latest technology, but progress depends of the availability of many willing hands to contribute towards our ambitious task.

Further enthusiastic and committed volunteers are always welcome. For those able to work at our study centre in Livingston, we can offer a range of tasks according to your interests and skills. These include: Transcription and data entry, Scanning and digitisation, Historical research, Library and cataloguing work, Response to research enquiries, Preparing digital content.

To find out more and to get in touch, please head to our website: https://scottishshale.co.uk/introduction/volunteer/

This month's Foto Friday is this black and white photographic negative of barrels at a loading bank in Pumpherston refin...
11/08/2023

This month's Foto Friday is this black and white photographic negative of barrels at a loading bank in Pumpherston refinery.

Until the widespread use of bulk tankers in the 1930's, many of the finished products of the shale oil industry were shipped in barrels. Wooded barrels were used into the 1920's and their maintenance employed many coopers at Pumpherston.

The view of a loading bank at Pumpherston shows wooden barrels being loaded into standard railway mineral wagons. The loading bay is lit by electric arc lamp. In the background are two pyramids of stored empty barrels.

Large pyramids of empty barrels are features of many early views of shale oil refineries. The availability of empty barrels was linked to the import of foreign oils and a shortage of barrels could occasionally limit production of shale oil products.

We’re looking for a battered old pram……………. I don’t suppose that you’ve got one in your shed ?Down in the threshing barn...
01/08/2023

We’re looking for a battered old pram……………. I don’t suppose that you’ve got one in your shed ?

Down in the threshing barn we’re putting together a rather unusual museum display. More than a century ago many Livingston children featured in a series of novelty postcards produced by Robert Braid. Robert was a talented photographer who also ran the Livingston Village post office, and his family and friends served as models in a range of cheeky, funny, or sentimental postcards that were sold throughout the UK.

Many of these old postcards from our museum collection have now been copied, blown up and cut-out so that Mr Braid’s children can once again be seen playing, joking, and having fun. We’re adding a few 3D objects to further bring these scenes to life, and have already built some old soap-box bogies. But what we’d really like is a tatty old-fashioned pram of the sort that the children might have played with all those years ago. We’re not looking for some treasured and polished family heirloom, but for something a little more time-worn, dusty and battered, and at least fifty years old. We’d love to hear from you if you’ve got something that might fit the part

We plan to open the new display later this month

Address

Almond Valley Heritage Trust, Millfield
Livingston
EH547AR

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

01506 414957

Website

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