What is recorded here

Niddry Castle Oil Works extracted shale oil in Winchburgh during the twentieth century, turning local rock into usable fuel while casting black smoke across West Lothian. The site still carries that industrial purpose in its name, even though the busy machinery has vanished. People may have worked there under difficult conditions, smelling hot oil and hearing hammers strike metal before leaving only faded marks behind.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Winchburgh, Niddry Castle Oil Works as Shale Oil Works (20th Century). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 1m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Niddry Castle Oil Works was a 20th-century shale oil processing site near Winchburgh, held by industrial operators involved in the extraction and refining of oil shale. It is remembered as part of Scotland's early 20th-century industrial heritage and the development of the oil industry in the region.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.