Local History: The Fire of Torbanehill

The Courier and Almond Valley Heritage Trust have teamed up to take readers on a trip down memory lane.

The Boghead coal, or “torbanite” was a highly prized and exceptionally oil- rich mineral, found only in a narrow seam over an area of about five square miles to the south-west of Bathgate.The coal was used in gas works throughout Britain and across the world.

A series of high profile court cases between William Gillespie, who owned the Torbanehill estate, and Russel & Son, who had acquired the right to mine the mineral, ensured that the famous Torbanehill mineral was a regular topic of public discussion.

The main heap of Boghead coal, almost 30 feet high and said to contain almost 35,000 tons of mineral, was still mostly in place in June 1872, although work had begun to cart it to a field close to the railway in the Boghead estate, half a mile distant.

On June 3, at around 1am, David Newton, engineman at Trees pit, a mile to the north, saw flames and dense smoke rising from the heap.

The estate overseer was awoken, people began to congregate at the scene, and a fire engine was brought from Young’s Bathgate chemical works.

By 3am teams were working to spray water on the burning part of the heap and cart away the coal to a safe distance. Efforts were hindered by a lack of water, flames spread out in all directions and by 8am the fire was out of control.

Authorities in Edinburgh and Glasgow were then telegraphed for assistance. A special train carrying a fire engine from Edinburgh was dispatched by 9am, a second by 11am. It took longer to organise help from Glasgow and their fire engine didn’t reach Torbanehill until 2.30 pm.

Trains of oil tanks and wagons shuttled between Boghead pit and Torbane with supplies of water. Additional hoses arrived by train from Glasgow late in the afternoon.

Throughout this time, much of Bathgate was plunged into a gloomy haze.

The fire had destroyed a smith’s shop and areas of the garden wall. The heat of the fire had also served to release crude oil from the coal, which began to stream out from the base of the heap, and holes were hurriedly dug to collect the liquid.

As Tuesday dawned, the centre of the heap continued to burn. A further fire engine arrived from Glasgow, and a line of hoses were run to the pumping engine of No.3 Torbanehill pit, greatly increasing water supply for a period until the pressure started blowing the hose connections.

A mess of liquid oil and water overflowed the makeshift bunds and entered a drain flowing towards Drum Farm.

This then choked and overflowed across the surrounding fields. As the wind rose, flames took hold of new areas of the heap.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the fire continued to burn despite the arrival of further fire engines from Falkirk and Leith.

Although several hundred barrels were filled with oil, the pollution soon reached the Almond, killing most the fish.

The bing continued to smoulder for the next three months and oil continued to flow from its base.