Scheduled MonumentsScotlandFaucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh
Shale bing,winchburgh

Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh

Scotland
HES SM5692
Site type
Shale bing,winchburgh
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Faucheldean Shale Bing is a substantial industrial monument in Winchburgh, Linlithgowshire, Scotland. This shale bing represents the material residue of the Scottish shale oil industry, which flourished during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The structure rises from bedrock of the Strathclyde Group, a sequence of Visean sedimentary rocks that underlie this part of central Scotland. These ancient strata formed through cyclical deposition in a vast Carboniferous basin, creating the distinctive layered geology typical of Midland Valley formation.

The bing itself is composed of spent shale and waste material discarded during the extraction and processing of oil from local shale deposits. This practice created distinctive conical or ridge-like hills across Linlithgowshire and Stirlingshire, fundamentally reshaping the industrial landscape. As extraction intensified, these bings became prominent features visible across the surrounding countryside, standing as testament to the scale of operations.

Faucheldean Shale Bing is now protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM5692. This designation reflects its importance as evidence of Scotland's industrial heritage, particularly the shale oil boom that transformed the local economy and environment during a period of remarkable industrial expansion and technological innovation.

Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5692. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh?

Faucheldean Shale Bing is a substantial industrial monument in Winchburgh, Linlithgowshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5692.

Who is responsible for protecting Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh?

Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM5692.

What other scheduled monuments are near Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Greendykes,shale bing,Broxburn (0.5 km), Niddry Farm,enclosure SW of (0.6 km), Carledubs, unenclosed settlement, 275m NE of 30 Carledubs Crescent (2.4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh

Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh stands on Strathclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, strathclyde group type.