Local Industrial Heritage

A visitor today, looking at the beautiful rural landscape surrounding West Linton and Carlops would see little in it to indicate an industrial past. This brief guide is designed to introduce the visitor to the rich variety of sites in the area, and show the location of a few that can be visited.

In the past many industries have flourished in this district. For instance there were over 20 coalmines, 8 limeworks, 6 stone quarries, 2 lead mines, an ironstone mine, various sand quarries and 3 brick and tile works.

The map shows six local sites with a brief description of each one. Those chosen can easily be viewed from the public road. VISITORS SHOULD NOT VENTURE ONTO THE SITES as many of the structures are in a dangerous condition and the ground may be unsafe due to old mine shafts.

1. CARLOPS LIMEWORKS Map ref: 167559 On the south side of the Kitleyknowe road, 0.5km from the A702, there are two fine examples of clamp-kilns. This type of kiln was built from rubble and earth, usually as near as possible to the quarry face. The quarried limestone was broken into small lumps and loaded into the kiln with a fuel, either coal, wood or peat, one part fuel to 3 parts limestone. The fuel was lit, the kiln sealed over with turf and left to burn for 7 to 10 days. The lime was used for agriculture and in building. These kilns were known to be working in 1837. The earliest date for kilns of this type in Scotland is 1625.

2. DEEPSYKEHEAD KILNS O.S. map ref: 169546 On the road from Carlops to Upper Whitfield, 1km for the A702, there are a pair of double brick lined Draw-kilns. This is a rectangular building containing two conical brick built pots open at the top.

A long loading ramp slopes away to the rear leading to the limestone quarry (now filled in).

The limestone was cut at the quarry then hauled up the ramp to the top of the kiln. Here it was broken up and the stone and fuel loaded into the pots from the top of the kiln. There was a grate at the bottom where the fire was kindled. Draw-kilns could be burnt continuously, usually throughout the summer, the lime was raked out daily from a grate in the draw holes at the base.

These kilns were working in 1791 and in 1837. Kilns of this type first came into use in Scotland in the 1750s.

3. DEEPSYKEHEAD STONE QUARRY O.S. map ref: 171545 On the opposite side of the road from the Draw-kilns there is a very large disused sandstone quarry. There is no record of when it began, but in the 1850s it became the largest freestone quarry in Peeblesshire.

A hundred men were employed here and there was a yard at Peebles for local trade. The house at the Glen, south of Traquair, was built from stone cut here and many local houses are dressed with this stone.

The earliest known date for this site is 1791, but it may be much earlier.

4. TOWER O.S. Map ref: 181547 On the moor road to Penicuik, 1km north of Upper Whitfield crossroads, there is a tower.

This tower was constructed at the turn of the century to house a special transit instrument, like a telescope, which was mounted on the column within the building and protected by a timber roof. The instrument was used for setting out the alignment of the tunnels for the Talla water main which passes below the tower.

The main still takes water to Edinburgh today. There are smaller columns, like the one inside this tower, dotted across countryside all the way from Tweedsmuir to Edinburgh, and it is believed that the instrument was also mounted on these. The Talla Main is a 56km long aqueduct taking water from the Talla reservoir, by Tweedsmuir to Edinburgh, entirely by gravity. The water is carried in iron pipes and rock tunnels.

The aqueduct has cast iron pipe syphons under the rivers Tweed and North Esk and crossed over the Lyne in iron pipes. It has 21 tunnels totalling 14km.

5. BRICK AND TILE WORKS O.S. map ref: 172537 On the moor road to Penicuik, 0.4km south of Upper Whitfield crossroads, there is a brick and tile works. On both sides of the road you can still see disturbed ground where the clay was dug. If you look on the west side of the road you can see two spoil heaps. One was the kiln, the other was the badly fired or damaged material from the kiln. This small works produced bricks and pantiles for houses. It also made many sizes of land drainage tiles, from the earliest patterns of a simple clay slab, arched to form a tunnel, to the later extruded tubular pipes. Material recovered from the site indicates a date of about 1830.

6. SILLER HOLES LEAD MINE O.S. map ref. 145534 Siller Holes is an old lead mining site known to date back to the 13th Century. It is 1.5km north of West Linton, on the north side of Lead Law Hill and beside the Roman Road. The site is best approached on foot (or by bike) via The Loan, a rough track which leaves the A702 by the Gordon Arms Garage.

Local legend states that Mary of Guise, Mary Queen of Scots' mother, paid her troops with silver mined here. Silver occurs in very small quantities in some lead. There are records of lead mining on this site in 1592, 1715, 1753 and 1828. In 1993 a pond was dug, and these excavations unearthed some fascinating artefacts, including 13th century pottery, leather and textile. The collection of Mediaeval textile recovered is now one of the largest in Scotland, which confirms the site was working in the 13th century.

Local Coal Mines

There are records of over 20 local coal mines, but the sites are very dangerous and not suitable for visitors. These local mines go back to the 16th century. Most of them were "Bearing Pits", which means that all the coal was carried from the coal face on peoples' backs, up ladders and spiral stairs to the surface. Some of these pits were still operating with very primitive conditions well into the 20th century.

In 1842 a Parliamentary Commissioner visited 2 local collieries and interviewed women and children working there, including a 16 year old girl:

Margaret Watson - Coal-bearer:

"I was first taken below to carry coals when I was six years old and have never been away from the work, except a few evenings in the summer months when some of go to Carlops two miles away to learn the reading.

"Most of us work from 3am to 4 or 5 pm at night. I makes 20 rakes a day and 30 when mother bides at home. What I mean by a rake is a journey from the daylight with my wooden 'backet' to the coal wall and back with my coal to the daylight, when I throw the coals on father's heap and return.

"I carry on my back never less than 1cwt. We often have bad air below: had some a short time ago and lost my brother by it, he sunk down and I tried to draw him out but the air stopped my breath and I was forced to gang."

The mine in question was 51 ft deep, descended by a turnpike stair and the coal face was 600ft distant from the pit bottom.

This description gives a chilling insight into the conditions in these primitive mines.

In 1842 in the Lothians and North Peeblesshire 40% of the labour force was under 18 years old and 25% was under 13 years old.

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