The documentary contained some big surprises: the large scale of the Scottish shale oil industry; the pioneering nature of the distillation process used here to extract lamp oil from mined shale developed by chemist James Young - now the standard method of refining oil; and the early date: the 1850s.
This coinciding with the birth of photography there is a continuous photographic record of the story which continued up to the 1960s when the unequal battle to compete with imported crude oil was finally conceded. This last chapter is well within living memory and the documentary makes great use of the recollections of those who worked in the industry, home movies - and family histories of earlier generations going back more than a century a half.
Following the collapse of the industry in 1962, all associated buildings including the mines having been demolished, removed and covered over and now almost as if they had never existed. There is however a museum.
This coinciding with the birth of photography there is a continuous photographic record of the story which continued up to the 1960s when the unequal battle to compete with imported crude oil was finally conceded. This last chapter is well within living memory and the documentary makes great use of the recollections of those who worked in the industry, home movies - and family histories of earlier generations going back more than a century a half.
Following the collapse of the industry in 1962, all associated buildings including the mines having been demolished, removed and covered over and now almost as if they had never existed. There is however a museum.
