The geology:-
A band of Kimmeridge Clay extends from The Wash to south of Southery. It just reaches the Fincham area.
Oil extraction:_
Before oil from underground became available in the late 19th century most of the oil for lubrication, heating and lighting came mostly from the distillation of organic rich rocks and oil shales in Scotland. Kimmeridge Clay was a source of this.
World War 1:-
Most ships were coal fired but there was an increasing need for oil and there was searching for suitable locations. The Kimmeridge Clay outcrop near Setchy excited interest when a farmer noticed oily deposits in the Puny Drain.
1916 -The arrival of Dr William Forbes -Leslie, a Scottish medical doctor:-
He met with Mr H.Harrod the farmer, took samples of the Kimmeridge Clay and proclaimed it an oil-rich shale. On the strength of this the English Oilfields Ltd was formed and over one million pounds worth of shares were bought and increased steadily in value (from £1 to £4 per share,) on further predictions by Forbes-Leslie of riches to be had.
Work on the site:-
By 1920 hundreds of workers were employed on the site. Four retorts were built to process the oil-shale, a huge chimney built (demolished in 1960) and a railway line laid to link up with the main King’s Lynn-London line, as well as many buildings.
Decline and fall:-
In 1921 experts distilled some of the oil and declared it unmarketable. The company continued using the site until 1966 for making oil-based products but no local oil was ever produced. (It is now the industrial estate in Setchy).
What’s this to do with Fincham?
In 1919-1920 when excitement about prospective riches was at its height landowners and investors got together in various locations to drill boreholes in the Kimmeridge deposits.
One of these was the Fincham Oilfield Development Company. Boreholes in the range of 50-200m deep were drilled but there was obvious secrecy surrounding the project and there appears to be no records as to where the Fincham boreholes were.
If anyone has any information on this- perhaps a grandfather who was in the know- please contact this site.
As a footnote it appears Forbes-Leslie was later jailed for some fraudulent activity not related to the Norfolk site. Whether he genuinely believed the claims that he made and how much he benefited financially from the scheme is not known but many people must have lost a good deal of money on his predictions.
Source:- Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association Vol 123, Issue 1.
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Fincham Local History Society 