Scottish shale Scottish shale

Other Coal Districts

coalfields.jpg

The coalfield districts of Britain contain a variety of carbon-rich minerals that at various times have been used to produce oils.

Cannel coal, sometimes referred to as "parrot coal" or "gas coal", is a distinctive form of coal that is especially rich in oils. Seams of cannel coal are usually restricted to limited geographical areas often extending over only a few square miles. From the early 1840's cannel coal was in great demand for the enrichment of town gas. Adding cannel to common coal boosted the calorific value of the gas, enabling the primitive gas lights then available to burn with a brighter flame. Cannel coal was used for oil production at the early Bathgate oil works, and in north Wales, however the high cost of the raw material provided little incentive to use it for oil production elsewhere.

Poorer quality forms of cannel coal was sometimes encountered in narrow seams while working common coal. This "coal shale" was known by various local terms such as "nob" and "hub". During the oil mania of the mid 1860's a number of oil works were constructed in various parts of England to produce oil from this shale. The dream of producing high-quality oils from this waste soon evaporated, however a few concerns continued into the 1880's, using coal shale to produce crudely refined greases and lubricants for use in local collieries.

During the 20th century, several processes were developed to produce oils as a by-product of smokeless fuel and coking processes.

Coal oil works in North Wales, North Staffordshire, and Wigan areas are considered in their separate sections. A handful of shortlived coal-oil works are know to have existed at other coalfield locations:

England

Wales

  • View coal-oil works site on map.

    Mineral Statistics

    For part of the Victorian era, the Home Office published an annual report to government quantifying the output of all forms of minerals. The annual statistics for "Oil Shale" recorded, by county, the output of Scottish oil shale, various coal shales produced in English and Welsh districts, and the small amount of Kimmeridge shale produced in Dorset. In most years Scottish shale oil contributed over 99% of total national output.

    The erratic nature of these statistics perhaps reflect variations in how the figures were compiled, and what products were considered as "oil shale". In some instances figures might include the output of cannel coal. It is interesting to note a modest output of oil shale is recorded in several coalfield areas where no operational oil works were known to exist. It remains unclear for what purpose these oil shales were used. Minor production for short periods were also noted for the counties of Carmarthen, Devon, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Monmouthshire and Shropshire.

  • View record of annual output of oil shale (in tons) by county
    • Cheshire Cumberland Dorset Durham Flint Lancashire Staffordshire Northumberland Yorkshire
      1873 0 0 0 0 11360 0 5619 1511 0
      1874 0 0 0 0 270 837 3101 0 0
      1875
      1876
      1877 49000 9471 0 294 7688 1520 37449 0 4927
      1878
      1879 0 5912 600 1450 15961 0 24102 0 31257
      1880
      1881
      1882 1500 0 0 0 9073 0 17500 0 7053
      1883 2600 0 1000 0 8450 0 2100 0 4156
      1884 200 0 0 0 11039 0 25500 0 8543
      1885 0 0 200 0 1926 0 15000 0 4443
      1886 0 0 250 0 0 0 22072 0 6394
      1887 0 0 0 0 8058 0 13000 0 0
      1888 0 0 0 0 2072 0 16459 0 5706
      1889 0 0 0 0 2132 0 17692 0 8046
      1890 0 7608 150 0 3438 0 13130 0 7351
      1891 0 2748 3 0 1904 0 8309 1278 8648
      1892 0 1981 70 0 1872 0 4663 0 4278
      1893 0 2593 0 0 1754 0 4036 0 295
      1894
      1895 0 0 0 0 917 0 3552 0 6172

      The erratic nature of these statistics perhaps reflect variations in how the figures were compiled, and what products were considered as "oil shale". In some instances figures might include the output of cannel coal. It is interesting to note a modest output of oil shale is recorded in several coalfield areas where no operational oil works were known to exist. It remains unclear for what purpose these oil shales were used. Minor production for short periods were also noted for the counties of Carmarthen, Devon, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Monmouthshire and Shropshire.

      In some years, the mineral statistics also included information on the sites or seams of oil shale worked in each county

      • In Cumberland, output was recorded from Clifton and Melgramfritz
      • In Durham, output was recorded from South Tyne and Ivesley
      • In Flintshire, output was recorded from the Leeswood Main Coal, Nerquis and Coppa
      • In Staffordshire output was recorded from Sneyd, Pinnox, Clanway, Chatterley, High Carr, and The Tileries
      • In Yorkshire output was recorded from Stocksbridge and Meadow Rawmarsh