“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’ …
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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 …
West Lothian's Story 