Scottish shale Scottish shale

Meadow Vale Oil Works

Former parish and county:
Parish of Pontbleiddyn, County of Flint, Wales
Local authority:
Flint
Opened:
1864
Closed:
Dismantled 1868
Current status of site:
Woodland

meadowValeworks500.jpg

Described in the prospectus of the Meadow Vale & Saltney Oil Refining Co. Ltd as:

.....situated near Leeswood which are at present producing six tons crude oil per week, by six retorts, with land of sufficient space to erect altogether 120 retorts.

There list of equipment offered in the clearance sale in 1868 (see below) suggests that this tiny works were never significantly extended.

The Meadow Vale Oil Works were usually described as being "near Leeswood" however their precise location is uncertain. The prospectus of the British Oil & Cannel Oil Co. Ltd. suggests that Meadow Vale had associated cannel workings, whilst other references refer to Meadow Vale as being continuous with the site of Leeswood Vale Oil Works. This evidence suggests that a structure marked on the 1869 OS map lying immediately west of Leeswood Vale Oil Works and to the south of Cae-bleiddyn colliery might represent the retorts and site of Meadow Vale oil works.

Mapped by the Ordnance Survey of c.1897, showing the possible location (in red) of Meadow Vale Oil Works - see Leeswood Vale Oil Works for a further sequence of maps.

Number of retorts: 6 (in 1864).

  • General location of Meadow Vale oil works
  • Detailed maps
  • Newspaper references
    • Another large Welsh company, the British Oil and Cannel Company, thought it desirable to come to Glasgow (the works of George Bennie & Co.) likewise with a large order for all the necessary machinery appliances for the Meadow vale Crude Oil Works at Leeswood and a large refinery at Saltney, to which the crude oil is conveyed in tank wagons.

      Engineer, 17th August 1866

      .......

      MEADOW VALE WORKS, LEESWOOD. MR ALBERT BURY is instructed to SELL BY AUCTION at the Meadow Vale Oil Works, Leeswood, near Mold, on Monday, the 10th of August, 1868, at one o'clock for two prompt, the following valuable plant, machinery, and other effects, viz.:

      • 6 horse power horizontal engine,
      • new steam boiler,
      • 4 stills,
      • 1 large waggon boiler, crab winch, legs, blocks and rope,
      • portable weighing machine,
      • 8 very large iron tanks, (cast and wrought),
      • moveable wood office, cooper's shed,
      • smith's shop, smith's tools, bellows, anvil, vice, timber, tools and utensils,
      • pumps, one 2-inch iron pump, and one 1-inch water pump,
      • 300 yards of gas tubing,
      • 350 yards of water pipes (6-inch),
      • 1 iron wheelbarrow, office furniture, cooper's tools,

      and a variety of other effects too numerous to mention. Auction and Estate Agency, Offices, Temple Row, Wrexham. 31st July, 1868.

      Wrexham Advertiser 1st August 1868

      .......

      MEADOW VALE OIL WCRKS, PONTYBODKIN, LEESWOOD, NEAR MOLD. MR ALBERT BURY is instructed to SELL BY AUCTION at the Meadow Vale Oil Works, Leeswood, near Mold, on Monday, the 10th of August, 1863, at one o'clock for two prompt, the following valuable plant, machinery, and other effects, viz. :

      • 6 horse power horizontal engine, complete, and in excellent working order, with new steam boiler, 14 feet by 5, fittings com- plete;
      • two valuable stills (1,500 gallons) by Bennie, Glasgow,
      • one still (1000 gallons),
      • one experimental still with worm in tank (3 gallons),
      • one waggon boiler, 14 feet by 7 feet,
      • crab winch, legs, blocks and rope,
      • portable weighing machine (by Avery),
      • one cast iron water tank 8 feet by 8 feet, 4 feet deep,
      • one cast iron tank 8 feet by 14 feet, 10 feet deep,
      • two worm iron tanks 8 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet deep,
      • two cast iron tanks 12 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet deep,
      • two cast iron tanks 4 feet square,
      • one cast iron pan; 5 feet 8 inches in diameter,
      • one wrought iron tank 6 feet by 6 feet, 3 feet 2 inches deep,
      • cooper's shed, smith's shop, smith's tools, bellows, anvil, vice, timber, tools, and utensils,
      • moveable wood office,
      • pumps, one 2-inch iron pump and one 1-inch water pump (each worked by the engine),
      • 300 yards of gas tubing, 350 yards of Scotch pipes (6-inch), one iron wheelbarrow ;

      Office Furniture, : comprising desk, table, four chairs, two fenders, cupboard and drawers, &c ; gas hydrometer and themometer, cooper's tools, about six tons of pitch, thirty oil casks, and a variety of other effects too numerous to mention. All the above are nearly new and in perfect condition. A branch line of the London and North Western Railway have a branch into the works. Refreshments provided. Auction and Estate Agency, Offices, Temple Row, Wrexham. 31st July, 1868

      Wrexham Advertiser, 8th August 1868

      .......

      Final Sale of PLANT, BRICKS, etc.at the MEADOW VALE OIL WORKS. COED TALON, NEAR MOLD.

      MR ALBERT BURY begs to announce that he is instructed to Sell by PUBLIC AUCTION, without any reserve at the Meadow Vale Oil Works, Coed Talon near Mold, on Wednesday, 25th August, 1869, at Two o'clock punctually, the following EFFECTS, viz:

      • A large quantity of Dressed Bricks, in lots to suit Purchasers.
      • Part of Office Furniture.
      • Smithy— Bellows, Anvil, Sledge Hammers, Spanners, Gas Tongs,
      • Crab Winch, Blocks, Chains, Pulleys, and Legs.
      • 320 Yards of 6-inch Socket Piping,
      • 160 Yards of Double Railway Rails, Boxes and Points,
      • Planks and Timber, 3 Ladders, 2 Wheelbarrows, quantity of Iron,

      and a large variety of other effects too numerous to mention. Auction and Estate Agency Offices, 10, Temple Row, Wrexham.

      Wrexham Advertiser, 21st August 1869