It only lasted for 16 years in the 19th century and there’s little evidence of it today but at its peak the shale oil complex at Burntisland employed almost 1000 men.
Now the history of the Burntisland Oil Works is to feature as part of Changing Landscapes for the BBC2 Landward programme.
Its inclusion comes after the town’s heritage trust was contacted by BBC Scotland for further information on the former complex.
Passing alongside Burntisland golf course today on the way to Kinghorn Loch, it is difficult to envisage the vast industrial undertaking which dominated the area on the other side of the road.
The huge shale oil industrial complex was established at Binnend in 1878 and, as the works thrived, the village of Binnend was created a few years later to provide accommodation for workers and their families.
But in the 1890s the works went into a steep decline and closed after just 16 years of operation.
The director of Landward’s Changing Landscapes, Folko Boermans, met up at the site with the Heritage Trust convener Ian Archibald and, impressed by the site and its story, decided to include Binnend in the new series.
Filming for the programme was completed at the beginning of May and resident Jimmy Wilson, who lived in the former village, was interviewed by the presenter Dougie Vipond on site.
He said, “The dramatic change in the landscape from a huge industrial complex to the site’s almost total reversion back to nature I think helped convince the director it would be an interesting subject for the start of their new series.
“He was also very interested to hear about the village and the fact that Jimmy, our most senior trustee, had lived in the Binnend village as a small boy.”
The feature will be part of Landward on BBC2 at 7pm on June 3.