Coke Ovens and Reservoir 600m SSE of Woodmuir Farm West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is of national importance as a well-preserved example of a bank of 19th-century coke ovens and associated remains which have the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of early industrial processes. The best-preserved bank has the field characteristics of its class preserved very well.

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument comprises a bank of coke ovens and associated reservoir and chimney situated alongside a former mineral railway.

Located within planted forestry, the bank of 10 coking ovens is set back-to-back in five pairs, the bank being about 25m in total length. Each oven measures 3.55m in diameter and about 1.9m high, with a flue at the apex of its conical roof. Two adjacent banks of rubble may be the remains of a further two banks of coking ovens. The remains of a chimney and reservoir associated with the works are located to the S of the railway, in dense forestry.

The coking ovens, reservoir, chimney and mineral railway are depicted on the 1st edition OS 25 inch map (Edinburghshire, 1864), but are in ruins on the 2nd edition OS 25 inch map (Edinburghshire, 1906).

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan, with maximum dimensions of 108m NW-SE by 100m transversely, to include the coking oven banks, the remains of the chimney and an area of ground in which evidence relating to their construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Scheduled Monument References

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NS95NE66.01.