Polbeth No. 8 pit

Parish:

West Calder, Midlothian

Local authority:

West Lothian

Ownership:

Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co. Ltd.

Seams worked:

Fells Shale

Opened:

c.1868

Closed:

1906

Current status of site:

Rough ground and overgrown waste bing, sited within agricultural land

Regional overview:

Mines in the Polbeth area

Vertical shaft, 262 feet deep

Serving Addiewell Chemical Works

Substantial workings in the Fells Shale, ultimately linked to workings from Polbeth No. 20 Mine, and perhaps also Polbeth No. 7 Pit and Polbeth No. 10 Pit. Map evidence suggests that the pithead was dismantled some time before the abandonment of the workings.

Shale-field: West Calder area.

Mapped by the Ordnance Survey of c.1895 showing the site cleared and only the shaft remaining.

Location & workings at Polbeth No.8 pit

Detailed maps

Polbeth No.8 Pit - 25" OS map c.1895, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Polbeth No.8 Pit - 25" OS map c.1907, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Polbeth No.8 Pit - 1:2,500 OS map c.1962, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Recent images

Polbeth No.8 mine 55-¦51'26.28N 3-¦33'58.63W 002.JPG

Probable line of railway siding, close to the site of the shaft, with the Breich Water to the left. Looking south. April 2010.

Polbeth No.8 mine 55-¦51'26.28N 3-¦33'58.63W 001.JPG

Site of shaft with waste bing beyond. Looking south west. April 2010.

External references

Coal Authority Mine Abandonment Catalogue No. 4913, showing workings in the Addiewell or Thick Shale from Polbeth No. 8 Pit, No. 20 and Slant Mine, abandoned in 1906.