West Lothian Villages |
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Livingston Although Livingston is Scotland's fourth New Town having come on the scene around 1962 the Parish of Livingston has been around since the 12th century. It is generally accepted that it was named after a merchant from Flanders who went by the name of Leving. It is thought he settled in the area around 1120. His son one Thurstanus Filius Levingi witnessed David I granting a charter to the Monks of Holyrood. Livingston is placed midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow and on the road and rail link connecting the two cities. Thus the ideal setting for a new town. The initial target for population was 70,000 and this was achieved by around the beginning of the 80's. The area houses four industrial estates and science parks attracting high tech industry. After Edinburgh, Livingston is now the largest town in the Lothians. In 1995 the local football team combined with the Edinburgh team Meadowbank Thistle and now play in the Scottish Football league under the name of Livingston FC. The purpose built stadium is in Livingston and called City Stadium. Almond vale in the centre of the town is a massive retail and shopping complex. Combined with the designer outlet village at Mc Arthur Glen it makes a mighty fine way to do a days shopping. The photograph on the left shows part of the Almond vale shopping complex Armadale Although Armadale has been around for some time it really came into being on the opening of the great road between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 1786 when the road was opened to traffic. Most of Armadale was built on the estate or barony of Barbauchlaw. The owner of the land was one Sir William Honeyman who was a Senator of the College of Justice and a Lord Commissioner of Justiciary and he sat on the bench as Lord Armadale. The town took the name from him and became known as Armadale, Linlithgowshire. The first pit in Armadale was sunk at Colinburn where they found a brown black seam which had not been seen before. This attracted the attention of James Young a notable chemist who investigated such finding. He later discovered paraffin which was extracted from shale. The nearby Carron Iron Works which was at the forefront of the industrial revolution was opened in nearby Falkirk in 1759. On the discovery of coal in Armadale the Iron works used much of the coal from this area. If you are into archeology then finding the exact location of Ogilface Castle could make you famous in that area. Although the main industries such as coal are now long gone in the area, Armadale is a thriving town in the Central Belt of Scotland and amongst many other activities has its own football team. The photograph on the left was taken in 1907 Bathgate
Whitburn Whitburn stands on the Almond River and like most of the towns of West Lothian is situated between Edinburgh and Glasgow the two main cities of the central belt of Scotland. It has a population of around 13,000 people and was first mentioned in history when David II granted land to Ade Forrester called Whytebourde. In 1452 George de Crichton was designated Baron of Whitburn and several stories abound as to the origin of how Whitburn became named. The main industry in the immediate past was coal and iron. In 1915 the Polkemmet Colliery was sunk and remained a major source of employment until it was shut down in the 1980's. Polkemmet Country Park is one of the main attractions of the town and is truly an ideal venue for the whole family offering recreation from golf to country walks.The ground were once owned by the Baillie family and is home to a variety of wild life . A family mausoleum stands in the grounds. Whitburn Brass Band was formed in 1870 and has been Scottish champions on no less than 15 occasions. It is currently ranked 7th in the world. Today Whitburn is a thriving community offering good civic amenities and caters for aspects of tourist needs from golf to swimming. Back to West Lothian Home page
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