| West Lothian | |
|---|---|
_-_Scotland.svg) West Lothian / Linlithgowshire within Scotland | |
| History | |
| • Succeeded by | Lothian Region |
| Status | Local government county (until 1975) |
| Government | County: Linlithgowshire County Council (1890–1925) Westlothian County Council (1925–1927) West Lothian County Council (1927–1975) Formed most of West Lothian district (1975–1996) Forms most ofWest Lothian council area (1996–) |
| • HQ | Linlithgow (county town) |
West Lothian, also known asLinlithgowshire (its official name until 1925), is ahistoric county in the eastcentral Lowlands ofScotland. until 1925. It is bounded geographically by theAvon to the west and theAlmond to the east. It was reshaped significantly following local government reforms in 1975, becoming slightly larger but with major territorial changes: some areas in the north-west were transferred toFalkirk; areas in the north-east were transferred toEdinburgh; and some areas in the south that had formerly been part ofMidlothian were added to a newWest LothianDistrict within theRegion ofLothian. This then became a standalonelocal authority area in the most recent major reorganisation enacted in 1996, retaining those same boundaries and name.
The county town was theroyal burgh ofLinlithgow, but the current council area has its headquarters atLivingston, the development of which as anew town in the second half of the 20th century represents one of the major differences between the historic and modern entities. Towns which were once in West Lothian but no longer are includeBo'ness,Kirkliston andSouth Queensferry, whilst localities which were only added in the 1970s includeAddiewell,East Calder,Kirknewton,Loganlea,Mid Calder andWest Calder.
Westlothiana ("animal from West Lothian") is a genus ofreptile-liketetrapod that lived about 338 million years ago during the latest part of theVisean age of theCarboniferous. Members of the genus bore a superficial resemblance to modern-daylizards. The type specimen was discovered in theEast Kirkton Limestone at theEast Kirkton Quarry in 1984.[1][2]
West Lothian was extensively settled in prehistoric times, and several ancient burial sites have been uncovered, such as atCairnpapple Hill, described as one of Scotland's richest archaeological sites and one of the earlier places of organised worship in the country.[3] There are remains of hillforts on Cockleroy, Peace Knowe, Bowden, Cairnpapple, and Binns Hills. The area was anciently inhabited byBritons of the tribe known as theVotadini orGododdin. By 83 AD, southern Scotland had been conquered by Romans, who built a road from their fort atCramond to the eastern end of theAntonine Wall, as well as forts in West Lothian (of whichCastle Greg is a known example). The Romans withdrew roughly two centuries later, and the area was left to the Britons until the arrival of Anglo-Saxons in the fifth and sixth centuries, who brought Lothian under the rule of theKingdom of Northumbria. In later centuries the region was regularly overrun by Gaelic-speaking Scots, and it became permanently part of theKingdom of Scotland in the 11th century.
In the 11th century, sheriffs were introduced in Scotland byMalcolm II of Scotland.[4] More shires, which would later become counties, were created byEdgar of Scotland,Alexander I of Scotland, andDavid I of Scotland.[5] The first known reference to a sheriff of Linlithgow occurs in a charter dating from the reign ofMalcolm IV, the successor of David I. For a time West Lothian became a constabulary, but it seems to have been made a sheriffdom again during the reign ofJames III. During themedieval period, settlements such as Linlithgow, Abercorn, Dalmeny andTorphichen grew in importance.Torphichen church is said to have been founded by St. Ninian in about 400AD, a small wooden structure on the site of the present church (itself rebuilt in 1756) and in 1165, theKnights Hospitaller of St John made their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen and the Preceptory stands as testament to their presence.[6][7]
In pre-industrial times West Lothian was almost entirely agricultural. In the way of heavy industry there was a silver mine atHilderston near Cairnpapple, a cotton mill atBlackburn, paper mills at Linlithgow, and shallow coal mines aroundBathgate andWhitburn. The county was radically changed by theIndustrial Revolution, (from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840) with the opening of deep-pit iron, coal, and shale oil mines, as well as foundries and brickworks, which dramatically altered the landscape.[3] InBathgate, the Scottish ChemistJames Young's discovery ofcannel coal in the Boghead area of Bathgate, and his subsequent opening of the Bathgate Chemical Works in 1852 transformed the town and the adjacent landscape.[8] The works were the world's first commercial oil-works, manufacturingparaffin oil andparaffin wax, signalling an end to the rural community of previous centuries.[8] When the cannel coal resources dwindled around 1866, Young and his chemical works started distilling paraffin from much more readily availableshale.[8]Shale oil extraction reached its height in the county during theVictorian era.[9] By 1871, there were over 50 oil works producing more than 25 million gallons each year.[8] The five largestoil shale companies (Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company, Broxburn Oil Company, Pumpherston Shale Oil Company, Oakbank Oil Company and James Ross & Company Philpstoun Oil Works) were concentrated in West Lothian and would later merge to becomeScottish Oils Ltd.[10][11][12][13] The increased industrialisation led to a growing population and the development of numerous villages, such asPumpherston andBroxburn. Thebings (black and pink hills of shale waste) produced by the mining industry, 19 of which still stand in West Lothian, were at first considered blights, but now are thought of as monuments to Scotland's industrial past, and a representation of one appears on the council's coat of arms.[3] The bings are also seen as important for local and nationalbiodiversity.[14]
.jpg)
TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system ofcounty councils in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, West Lothian County Council was created in 1890. The historic county of West Lothian or of Linlithgowshire contained six burghs:Armadale, Bathgate, Bo'ness, Linlithgow, Queensferry, and Whitburn. Areas outside the burghs were administered as districts, of which there were also six: Borrowstounness, Linlithgow, Queensferry, Torphichen & Bathgate, Uphall, and Whitburn & Livingston. The county was also split into twelve parishes; these were not used for administrative purposes after 1930. West Lothian County Council was based at theCounty Buildings in the High Street, Linlithgow.[15]
Prior to 1925, the county was formally called the "county of Linlithgow" or Linlithgowshire, although the name West Lothian had long been used as an informal alternative name. Following a petition by the county council the government changed the name formally to "Westlothian" under the Westlothian (Bathgate District) Water Order Confirmation Act 1925, which receivedroyal assent on 27 March 1925.[16] In May 1927 the county council resolved that West Lothian should be written as two words rather than one.[17] TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 43) subsequently gave statutory confirmation for the two word version of the name.[18]
.jpg)
In theSecond World War the county adopted duringWarship Week the destroyerHMS Wallace raising over £547,000 in donations.[19][20] Many of the houses built for the expanding population during the 19th and 20th century were of poor quality, necessitating the building of thousands of council houses in the latter part of the 20th century, especially at Livingston, where several smaller settlements were historically mining villages. Under theNew Towns Act of 1946, Livingston was designated as aNew Town on 16 April 1962.[21][22]
Heavy industry in the county declined after the Second World War, and the last shale oil mine closed in 1962. In 1975, as a result of theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the boundaries of West Lothian were adjusted, so that some western areas of Midlothian were added, while some West Lothian settlements became part of Falkirk District and Edinburgh.[9] The 1973 Act abolished the traditional counties, burghs and districts, instead creating a system ofRegions andDistricts. West Lothian was made a district ofLothian Region but lost the burgh of Bo'ness and the district of Bo'ness to Falkirk District ofCentral Region, and the burgh of Queensferry and the district of Kirkliston plus part of Winchburgh to Edinburgh district of Lothian Region. It gained East Calder and West Calder districts from Midlothian. The two-tier system was abolished by theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, and the district of West Lothian was made into aunitary council area namedWest Lothian Council.
Notable residents of West Lothian include monarchs and political figures includingMary Queen of Scots (born at Linlithgow Palace),King James the Fifth (born at Linlithgow Palace),Robin Cook (theMember of Parliament forLivingston from 1983 to 2005),Alex Salmond (from Linlithgow, the former first minister of Scotland), andSir Tom Dalyell (theMember of Parliament forLinlithgow from 1962 to 2005). Figures from industry and academia includeJohn Fleming (from Bathgate, a naturalist, zoologist and geologist),Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (from Linlithgow, a natural historian and marine zoologist), andJames Young Simpson (an obstetrician and significant figure in the history of medicine).
The traditional county bordered the historic counties ofMidlothian to the south-east,Lanarkshire to the south-west andStirlingshire to the west. Its border with Midlothian was formed by theBreich Water, from its source until it reached the Almond, and it then followed the Almond to the Firth of Forth (except by Livingston, where Midlothian intruded about a mile past the Almond to include the hamlets ofHowden,Craigshill, andPumpherston). The western border was formed first by theDrumtassie Burn and then by the Avon. It had an area of 120 sq. miles (310 km2), making it the third-smallest of Scotland's 33 counties and smaller than the modern council area.
The geology of West Lothian is typical for theMidland valley area geological of Scotland.[23] Most of the bedrock surface area is underlaid by Carboniferous sedimentary rocks running in strips from north to south, with a variety of glacial deposits.[23] The exception is the Bathgate Hills, which are composed of volcanic rocks to the north of Bathgate and around Linlithgow.[24] Other rock types includeoil shale,sandstone,dolerite.[23] The eastern and southern rocks are the oldest, specifically Devonian sandstones and volcanic rocks in thePentland Hills.[24] In the middle of the county there is a large field ofshale oil running south to north (underneath the settlements of Broxburn, Livingston and West Calder), then sedimentary and basalt rocks, which supplysilica sand.[24] In the far west of the county, a large carboniferouscoalfield exists; it extends underneath Whitburn, Blackridge and Harthill.[24] The oil shale in West Lothian is an organic-rich, fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can beextracted. This extraction was carried out extensively in the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, by a process developed by the chemistJames Young.[25][26]
The area rises from lowlands in the north to thePentland Hills in the southeast, while the southwest is moorland. West Cairn Hill is the highest peak and Current County Top (CoU) at 562 m (1,844 ft). The previous County Top was Cairnpapple Hill which is now the Historical County Top (CoH). Two thirds of the land is agricultural, while a tenth is urban. Significant watercourses include the Almond and theUnion Canal, while the main bodies of water areLinlithgow Loch,Dundas Loch,Humbie Reservoir,Lochcote Reservoir,Beecraigs Loch andBangour Reservoir. The small island ofInchgarvie near theForth Bridge lies within the historic borders of the county.
All of the following areas were historically in Midlothian: