In 1955, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured Scotland. This British Pathe film lets us see the public's wonderful reaction to their visit to Linlithgow and Whitburn. Lots of excitement just two years after the Queen's coronation. https://youtu.be/GIwWG7A9Dnw
Robert Bell’s Photographs of Blackridge
Some of the wonderful photographs that the West Lothian Local History Library have in their collection. These images of Blackridge were taken by local photographer Robert Bell and his full collection of slides can be seen when visiting the West Lothian Local History Library.
Whitburn and Robert Burns’ Love-Begotten Daughter
Today we celebrate the birth of Robert Burns, but did you know that Robert Burns' first child is buried in Whitburn, West Lothian? Elizabeth Paton was a servant of Burns’ mother at Lochlea, Tarbolton. She gave birth to an illegitimate child – the first of Burns’ many children, legitimate and illegitimate - on 22 May 1785. …
Continue reading "Whitburn and Robert Burns’ Love-Begotten Daughter"
Remembering the Burngrange Disaster
“A disaster unprecedented in the long history of shale mining…” 72 years ago today an underground explosion and fire claimed the lives of fifteen men at Burngrange pit. The disaster and rescue attempt were national news, but the impact on the local communities and the victims’ families is still felt today. The flame from a …
Livingston Station’s Football Hall of Fame
Did you know that the small West Lothian mining village of Livingston Station has provided not one, but three international footballers who all played for Scotland? Willie Waugh was born in Livingston Station on 2nd February 1910 and was a goalkeeper who played for Hearts. He was described as being ‘a bit of a rebel’ …
Continue reading "Livingston Station’s Football Hall of Fame"
A Day off at Christmas?
Did you know that Christmas Day only became a public holiday in 1958, and Boxing Day in 1974? A 1640 Act of the Parliament of Scotland made the celebration of “Yule vacations” illegal. Despite the repealing of the Act in 1686, the suppression of Christmas in Scotland effectively lasted for 400 years, with December 25 only becoming …
West Lothian’s Lost Villages
West Lothian has a surprising number of ‘lost villages’ – communities which grew from nothing, flourished for a time, then disappeared. Most of them were ‘artificially’ created communities - villages built for one specific purpose. When that purpose - usually mining – vanished, the villages were lost forever. There are as many as 20 lost villages …
Bangour Village Hospital
Some interesting info from BBC Radio Scotland about Bangour Village Hospital. https://www.facebook.com/1411916919051820/posts/2217536148489889/
The Disappearance of Westwood House
The Five Sisters shale bings in West Calder. A reminder of the forgotten days of the shale industry, but did you know that there is a house buried under the northernmost bing? Westwood House, built during the Victorian era, ended its life standing on the grounds of Westwood Oil Refinery during the time of the …
Winchburgh – The hanging of Paddy Higgins.
On Sunday morning, 6 June 1913, two ploughmen from Niddry Mains Farm went for a stroll around a lonely, disused quarry just north-east of Winchburgh. Their attention was caught by an object floating on the water. Using a branch, they guided it to shore and were sickened to discover that it was the bodies of …
Continue reading "Winchburgh – The hanging of Paddy Higgins."
West Lothian's Story 