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Broxburn Oil Works
Link to "An Introduction to Broxburn's early oil works." Location Refinery: 55.938243, -3.474418, Retorts: 55.942615, -3.462655 Former parish and county Parish of Uphall, Linlithgowshire Current local authority area West Lothian Construction history Constructed from 1878 incorporating sites of earlier oilworks Ownership history Broxburn Oil Company Ltd Demolition history Crude oilworks demolished c.1937, refinery demolished.c.1957, site cleared c.1962 Current status of site Industrial units and waste ground. Part of the candleworks building still extant Background Redwood noted: "In 1877 the famous Broxburn Oil Company, Limited was floated, with a capital of £180,000. This company bought up the oil work and shale fields acquired by Bell in 1862. Bell, besides being a large stock-holder, also took and active interest in the management of the company, which latter has been one of the greater successes in the history of the Scotch oil industry."
The first oil works to challenge the scale of James Young's Addiewell plant, Broxburn was an integrated industrial complex equipped to undertake all processes necessary to transform shale into a full range of oil and wax products, including the manufacture of candles. From the outset the works were equipped with Henderson patent retorts which provided a major competitive advantage and allowed the company to dominate the industry for the next decade.
