107-557: Eliburn is an area, primarily residential, in Livingston , West Lothian , Scotland . Eliburn is bordered by Deans to the north, Ladywell to the east and Livingston Village to the south. The original fortified tower (Livingston Peel) of Livingston was located in Eliburn (the name evolved from the later title of Elibank). The tower house was later occupied by the Murrays of Elibank . In 1670,
214-647: A heart attack and a by-election was called and won by the Labour Jim Devine . Devine was deselected in 2009 after being caught up in the 2009 expenses scandal . Before Brexit , Livingston was part of the Scotland European Parliament constituency . It was represented by six MEPs ; the nearest ones to Livingston were Alyn Smith ( SNP ) and Struan Stevenson ( Conservative ) who were both based in Edinburgh and David Martin ( Labour ) who
321-628: A hospital radio station called Radio Grapevine which broadcasts to St John's Hospital . Livingston is covered by the BBC Scotland and STV Central regions. West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston is the administrative centre of West Lothian Council . Within West Lothian, Livingston is covered by four multi-member wards each electing four councillors. They are Livingston North, Livingston South, East Livingston, and East Calder wards. Many of
428-613: A weekend Japanese school , is held at St. Margaret's Academy in Livingston. It first opened in 1982 and moved to Livingston in April 2003. Livingston is part of the NHS Lothian region in NHS Scotland . Livingston previously had a psychiatric hospital with a general hospital in the Dechmont area of the town called Bangour Village Hospital . The hospital opened in 1904, and started closing in
535-541: A 50,000-square-foot or 4,600-square-metre hub facility). Other large employers include Tesco (whose distribution centre for Scotland and Northern Ireland is located on the northern edge of the town), Schuh (whose head office and customer service centre is on the Deans Industrial Estate in Livingston), Shin-Etsu Europe (who have a manufacturing facility in Livingston that produces semiconductors ), those in
642-416: A confirmation charter by King Malcolm IV of Scotland (1141 – 9 December 1165). In royal charters of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, the name of Bathgate has appeared as: Bathchet (1160), Bathket (1250) and Bathgetum (1316). Batket in the 14th century, and by the 15th appeared as both Bathgat and Bathcat, the latter an offshoot of Uchtred Dalrymple's feudal lineage, which ruled during ancient times. The name
749-408: A former Burdiehouse limestone quarry and the surname of its owner, Mr Bell. The quarry was in operation by 1782 and continued until the early 20th century, when it was used as a rubbish dump before being tidied and covered. Until the development of the new town, except for localised industry in areas such as Deans, the area was primarily agricultural , with farming focused on the alluvial soils of
856-566: A house called Livingston Place. The estate eventually passed from the Murray family to the Cunningham family and it was eventually acquired by the Earl of Rosebery in 1828 and demolished in 1840. The area of the former gardens and house is now a local garden and park, named Peel park. The formal layout and planting in the park reflect the historic gardens, and a new peel mound and moat was recreated to reflect
963-490: A large number of offices. Private sector offices are also concentrated at the eastern and western edges of the town centre and along the Almondvale Boulevard . Other facilities in the town centre include: hotels, a swimming pool and local authority gym, and restaurants and pubs. Almondvale Football Stadium and West Lothian College are located at the north western edge of the town centre. The Livingston Civic Centre
1070-519: A major hub in Scotland's Silicon Glen with factories constructed in purpose-build business parks at Houston Industrial Estate and Kirkton Campus. Like most other areas, this went into a slow decline from the late 1990s with companies including Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys ), Motorola and NEC closing down their factories. Several multi-national companies still have factories in the town, including Wyman Gordon who manufacture aircraft components on
1177-513: A mile [400 m] from the town, in which, though it has been drained and brought into cultivation, kitchen utensils of brass, and coffins rudely formed of flat stones, have been discovered by the plough. Another antiquarian, W. Jardin, in the Statistical Account of Scotland Vol I (1793), and referring to Walter Stewart, states: Some traces of his mansion may be seen in the middle of a bog or loch about 1 ⁄ 4 mile [400 m] from
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#17328759569691284-485: A new railway station was built for the town on the Shotts Line called Livingston South which was shortly followed by another station Livingston North on the redeveloped Edinburgh to Bathgate Line in 1986. These stations replaced the former Livingston and Newpark stations which had closed before the construction of the town. In 1995 Livingston gained its professional football team, Livingston F.C. The first team
1391-525: A new supercentre at the other end of the shopping centre in place of the old Woolco store (which had also been used as a Gateway hypermarket before Asda acquired the firm in late-1989). This Asda supercentre is the largest Asda store in Scotland. Until 2016, there was also a large B&Q in the south-west of the town centre, as well as a large Morrisons supermarket which remains open. The Homebase store closed in July 2010 and Argos moved to premises across
1498-450: A short-lived crown "project" in the area. Advisers to King James VI of Scotland became aware of the discovery, and in April 1608 repossessed the land for the crown. The prospector Bevis Bulmer and Thomas Foulis opened a mine called "God's Blessing". A sample of the ore was shipped to London, and assayed in the Tower of London by Andrew Palmer. By December 1608 it was clear that the ore in
1605-466: A small settlement, with a church at Kirkton and a castle south of the present day town centre. Local mines were established in the 17th century but the town remained small in size until the coming of the industrial revolution. By the Victorian era , Bathgate grew in prominence as an industrial and mining centre, principally associated with the coal and shale oil industries. By the early 20th century, much of
1712-428: A vaccine against COVID-19 . The Brucefield Industrial Estate is located west of Bellsquarry and includes companies such as Diet Chef (a food manufacturer), ScoMac (a catering equipment manufacturer), and Snag Tights (a textile manufacturer based in Livingston that exports to 90 countries). Alba Business Park is located in Livingston to the west of Adambrae and includes a technology innovation centre. Companies in
1819-790: Is Category C listed. In the mid-20th century, many local industries in the town had closed and West Lothian was designated a Special Development Area. In such areas, extra financial inducements were offered by the British government to assist companies wishing to relocate. As a result, in 1961, the BMC —which consisted of the merged Austin Motor Company and Morris Motors —located a new truck and tractor plant in Bathgate rather than expanding their Longbridge plant as originally planned. The plant closed in 1986 under ownership of British Leyland . On 24 March 1986,
1926-594: Is a reservoir and coarse fishing venue in Eliburn. Formally known as Deans Reservoir, it is nearly 3 acres in size with water depths up to 13 ft and is open all year round for day ticket anglers. The fishery is managed, stocked and maintained by WLCA (West Lothian Coarse Anglers) who are a not for profit, members fishing club. Species that can be caught include Carp (Mirror, Common, Koi and Crucian), Tench, Bream, Roach, Perch, Ide, Hybrid, Pike, Barbel and Rudd. Livingston, West Lothian Livingston ( Scots : Leivinstoun , Scottish Gaelic : Baile Dhunlèibhe )
2033-451: Is a "manifest corruption" of an earlier Cumbric name meaning 'Boar Wood' (cf. Welsh baedd coed ). Early records of Bathgate are somewhat sketchy. It is recorded that, around 1160, Uchtred Dalrymple, Sheriff of Linlithgow , and Geoffrey de Melville came to Bathgate at the command of King Malcolm IV and measured out an area of land which was to form the basis of Bathgate Parish. The church and all its associate property were placed under
2140-553: Is a free local magazine that serves the West Lothian area, including Livingston, with approximately 10,000 copies a month delivered in the Livingston area. Livingston previously had its own Radio Station called River FM that was broadcast from the Almondvale Stadium , from 1 September 2003 until 29 January 2007. Current local radio includes the local BBC station BBC Radio Scotland and local commercial radio including Capital Scotland and 97.3 Forth One . Livingston also has
2247-425: Is an Evangelical and Reformed Presbyterian church on the corner of Eliburn South and Alderstone road that was built in the early 1980s. Eliburn Park is a 16.5-hectare (41-acre) park and sports area, which includes Eliburn reservoir, a play park, woodlands and extensive walking routes. Adjacent woodlands include Eliburn woods, a 7.81 ha (19.30 acres) woodland in strips and Livingston Old Woods. Eliburn Reservoir
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#17328759569692354-502: Is based in Livingston. The college has sports facilities, a library, a training restaurant for hospitality students (which was awarded Scottish Restaurant of the Year in 2015 and 2017), and a salon/spa. The college provides educational services to over 8,000 students a year and has 350 staff. The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television has its main educational site in Livingston. A local history library which includes items on
2461-632: Is close to the towns of Broxburn to the north-east and Bathgate to the north-west. The town was built around a collection of small villages, Livingston Village , Bellsquarry , and Livingston Station (now part of Deans ). The town has a number of residential areas. These include Craigshill , Howden , Ladywell , Knightsridge , Deans , Dedridge , Murieston , Almondvale , Eliburn , Kirkton , and Adambrae . There are several large industrial estates in Livingston, including Houston industrial estate, Brucefield Industrial Estate, Alba Business Park, and Kirkton Campus. The locality of Livingston as defined by
2568-499: Is for the most part segregated from roads and uses an extensive network of under/over pass systems to keep pedestrians and cyclists away from motorised traffic. Livingston has excellent connections to the central Scotland road network: the M8 bounds Livingston in the north and the A71 in the south; The A899 dual carriageway spine road passes north south along Livingston's eastern edge and connects
2675-537: Is located at 9-11 Mansefield Street in a row of cottages that are Category C listed dating between the late 18th and mid 19th century in construction. Part of the M8 Art Project saw the artist Patricia Leighton's 'Sawtooth Ramps' project being built in 1993, now more commonly referred to as the Pyramids . The sculpture is 300-metre (980 ft) long and consists of seven 11-metre (36 ft) high ramps. The artist based
2782-523: Is located at the Murieston Shops and is on the Shotts Line and has trains running between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts . It was opened by British Rail on 6 October 1984. Livingston is 7 miles (11 kilometres) west of Edinburgh Airport and 35 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (57 kilometres) east of Glasgow Airport , both of which have regular flights to British and international destinations. The local newspaper covering Livingston
2889-505: Is now part of Deans . Livingston station was built as a settlement to serve the workforce and their families of the nearby Deans Oil Works, owned by the Pumpherston Oil Company. Livingston Station had six streets with homes, as well as a store, a small church and a works institute. The original Livingston railway station was operated by the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway and opened on 12 November 1849. British Railways closed
2996-570: Is primarily residential, a small industrial estate, centered around Eliburn Campus and Appleton Parkway lies to the west of the area. This includes a large office of the French IT and service company Atos and the UK head office of Shin-Etsu Chemical , who moved to Livingston in 1988. A small shopping area, which includes a branch of the Coop is located beside Follyburn Place and Eliburn Road. Livingston Free Church
3103-508: Is similar to that of West Lothian in general, characterised by former glacial history and composed of till . This includes areas of clay , sand , silt , and gravel , primarily along the Almond river valley environment. Parts of Livingston also have isolated areas of carboniferous sedimentary rocks (primarily in and around the Deans area of the town) which were worked and extracted for shale oil in
3210-585: Is the West Lothian Courier (published under the Daily Record ). There was previously a Livingston Post newspaper which was stopped in the early 1990s. There was also a newspaper called West Lothian Herald & Post that served Livingston but that ceased to print in July 2011. Dedridge Grapevine was a voluntary community magazine, delivering several thousand copies to houses in and around Dedridge, founded and edited by Kathleen Ross-Hale since 1976. Konect
3317-574: Is the largest town in West Lothian , Scotland . Designated in 1962, it is the fourth post-war new town to be built in Scotland. Taking its name from a village of the same name incorporated into the new town , it was originally developed in the then-counties of Midlothian and West Lothian along the banks of the River Almond . It is situated approximately fifteen miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and thirty miles (50 km) east of Glasgow , and
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3424-638: Is the second-largest settlement in the Lothians, after Edinburgh. Livingston is first mentioned in an early 12th-century charter as Villa Levingi (Leving's town). In 1128, David I granted the newly founded Abbey of Holyrood control of the church at Livingston and its income in a charter that was witnessed by Turstani filii Levingi (Thurstan son of Leving). He built a fortified tower (Livingston Peel) which no longer survives. The settlement that grew up around it became known as Levingstoun, Layingston, and eventually fixed at Livingston. The Leving family controlled
3531-457: The 2024 United Kingdom general election when the seat returned to Labour. It was for the 1983 general election that Livingston gained its own constituency at Westminster . The first MP elected for Livingston was Robin Cook who held the seat for six consecutive elections and held many government positions, most notably Foreign Secretary between 1997 and 2001. In 2005 Robin Cook suddenly died of
3638-613: The Bathgate-Edinburgh railway line was re-opened to passengers for the first time since the 1950s. This railway line was extended as the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link to Airdrie allowing train services to run between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Bathgate on time and on budget in December 2010. The world's oldest known reptile fossil, Westlothiana lizziae (affectionately referred to as Lizzie ),
3745-834: The DTM touring car series, grew up in the town of Bathgate. He won many admirers in his debut F1 season of 2010 and had been tipped to land a seat at a constructor challenging higher up the grid in the coming seasons, but ultimately returned to DTM in 2014 after failing to secure an F1 ride for that season. He is cousin to two other notable drivers who also hail from Bathgate—the now-retired multiple IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti and his younger brother Marino , currently racing sports cars in Europe and North America. Notable Bathgate residents have included David Tennant (born in Bathgate but raised in Paisley); his father Alexander McDonald , former Moderator of
3852-556: The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) includes Uphall Station and Pumpherston . The wider urban settlement, also defined by the GROS, further includes Mid Calder and East Calder . Other neighbouring villages include: Kirknewton , Polbeth and West Calder . The 2001 UK Census reported that the town had a population of 50,826. The 2011 UK Census showed the population of Livingston had increased to 56,269. Livingston
3959-488: The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Centre). The combined retail spaces of central Livingston form the largest indoor shopping location in Scotland and the 10th largest in the UK. The first phase of the Livingston's shopping centres was completed in 1977 to facilitate the needs of the local residents and workers at The Centre, known as the "Livingston Centre" at that point. The first major refurbishment
4066-789: The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration , Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service , and the West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership. Livingston has three major shopping centres, three medium large retail parks, and clusters of small local stores located throughout the different areas. The largest shopping centres are 'The Centre' (formerly named the Almondvale Shopping Centre, comprising more than one million square feet or 90,000 square metres of retail space) and Livingston Designer Outlet (the largest outlet mall in Scotland, formerly called
4173-469: The Scottish Gaelic word for the slopes of a hill. Inner central districts in the town include Almondvale , Livingston Village , Eliburn , Howden , Ladywell , Knightsridge , and Dedridge . Ladywell takes its name from a historic well that was dedicated to Mary and was said to have been used by medieval Scottish Kings as a site for a yearly Royal touching ceremony . The geology of Livingston
4280-562: The co-operative dance hall was used as the Room at the Top. It caught fire in 1997. John Newland was one of the town's early major benefactors. Newland had emigrated to the West Indies and became a rich planter, using slaves to maintain and harvest his sugar-cane crop. His benefaction allowed the establishment of Bathgate Academy , which was founded in 1833. He was remembered by an annual pageant (known as
4387-519: The 1970s, Kirkton Campus on the western edge of the town was developed as Scotland's first technology science park. Developed for private businesses by the LDC, it included 300 acres of landscaped offices and factory sites along the Killandean Burn and River Almond. Former businesses included Ethicon , Boehringer Mannheim , Canon Business Machines and Seagate Micro Electronics. While these factories on
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4494-425: The 1990s. It closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital. Bathgate Bathgate ( Scots : Bathket or Bathkit , Scottish Gaelic : Both Chèit ) is a town in West Lothian , Scotland, 5 miles (8 km) west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway . Nearby towns are Linlithgow , Livingston, and West Calder . A number of villages fall under
4601-487: The 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest rocks are classified as part of the Inverclyde Group (primarily located in the south-east of Livingston between Linhouse Water and Kirknewton). There are also several areas of underlying sandstone in Livingston which were used as local quarries, now since defunct, including Dedridge quarry, refilled and landscaped as a local park (Quarry Froggy Park). Bellsquarry originates from
4708-576: The 20th century. Under the New Towns Act of 1946 , Livingston was designated as a New Town on 16 April 1962 in order to ease overcrowding in Glasgow. Livingston was the fourth new town of five in Scotland; the others were East Kilbride , Glenrothes , Cumbernauld and Irvine . Three villages (Livingston Village and Livingston Station in the old parish of Livingston and Bellsquarry in the parish of Mid Calder) and numerous farmsteads were incorporated into
4815-552: The Alba Business Park include Glenmorangie , the whisky distillers, who have offices and a bottling facility that was opened in 2011. Quintiles IMS , a healthcare data provider, have a large office in the business park. The prosthetic company Össur (Touch Bionics) has a research and development facility in the park. Livingston town centre sits on the southern edge of the Almond Valley and provides shops and services for
4922-574: The Almond river. The area is now primarily an urban area although as a new town, Livingston is characterised by large areas of forested paths, public parks and open spaces. Forested areas in Livingston include Livingston Old Wood (38.97 acres or 15.77 hectares) in Eliburn, the Wilderness in Adambrae (45.91 acres or 18.58 hectares), Bellsquarry Wood (43.86 acres or 17.75 hectares), Kirkton Woods (15.64 acres or 6.33 hectares), Linhouse Glen, and Calder Woods (on
5029-517: The Bathgate Chemical Works in 1852, the world's first commercial oil-works, manufacturing paraffin oil and paraffin wax , signalled an end to the rural community of previous centuries. When the cannel coal resources dwindled around 1866, Young started distilling paraffin from much more readily available shale . The landscape of the Lothians is still dotted with the orange spoil heaps (called bings) from this era. Collieries and quarries and
5136-739: The Campus have closed, it is still home to several businesses, including Sky UK who is one of the largest private sector employers in Livingston with a range of offices and their biggest UK contact centre at Kirkton Campus. Other companies at Kirkton Campus include Merck (a pharmaceutical company), Gore W L & Associates (a clothes manufacturer in a triangular plan building built in 1984), Edinburgh Instruments (a molecular spectroscopy instrumentation manufacturer), SCION Instruments (a chromatography and gas detector manufacturer), Techcomp Lab Products (a manufacturer of laboratory instrumentation), JPT Foodtech , and Palletways (a distribution service which owns
5243-617: The Edinburgh botanic garden was founded by Dr. Robert Sibbald and Dr. Andrew Balfour using the plant collection from the Elibank private gardens of Sir Patrick Murray, 2nd Lord Elibank , following his death in September 1671. In the late 17th century, the Peel was demolished and replaced by a house called Livingston Place. The estate eventually passed from the Murray family to the Cunningham family and it
5350-542: The Houston Industrial Estate. Other companies on the Houston Industrial Estate include Mitsubishi Electric (who have an electric air conditioning factory which produces almost 150,000 air conditioning and heat pump units every year), Paterson Arran (a food manufacturer whose bakery, the Royal Burgh Bakery is located in Livingston), and DS Smith (who have a box production plant on the estate). From
5457-744: The LDC was the Almondvale Stadium . Housing development continues under West Lothian Council, through private developers such as Barratt Developments and Bellway , and under the management of housing associations such as the Almond Housing Association and the West Lothian Housing Partnership. In September 2021, the town submitted a bid for city status in the United Kingdom as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition. Although
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#17328759569695564-441: The Livingston new town. Published in July 1962, the first edition of the Livingston plan designated new areas for housing for up to 100,000 people, as well as areas for new industry and offices, marked by new roads, pathways, and recreational spaces, under an 84-square-mile (220-square-kilometre) survey led by Professors Donald Robertson and Sir Robert Matthew . Many of the initial houses were factory-built. A subsequent edition to
5671-516: The Procession or Newland's day), held on the first Saturday in June. In light of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests a petition to change the processions name due to Newlands slave trade past, gained hundreds of signatories. In June 2020 the name was changed to the more suitable 'Bathgate Procession and Community Festival'. The Regal is a community theatre in Bathgate on North Bridge Street. The theatre
5778-521: The Scottish architect James Graham Fairley , it is in Early English architectural style and the church is Category B listed. The church includes a belltower in north Italian campanile style. The church is now the local Bathgate cinema. A few years later in 1908, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church was built to a design by Charles Ménart on Livery Street. St Mary's is in a Gothic architectural style and
5885-522: The TV show Good Omens , which stars local actor David Tennant . Bathgate was an industrial town in its time. It played host to the Menzies' Foundry (demolished due to the railway link construction) and British Leyland was sited in Bathgate. It had two train stations, Bathgate North and South. There was a link that ran from the site of the current station, along Menzies Road, at the rear of one side of Mill Road all
5992-672: The area seven additional MSPs. Livingston has its own constituency in the House of Commons ; Livingston . It is currently represented by the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Gregor Poynton . Livingston for the majority of its existence has returned Labour MPs since the town was founded in 1962. However, in the election of 2015 , the constituency voted in Hannah Bardell of the SNP as their member for Parliament. She remained as MP until
6099-422: The area until dying out in 1512. From 1512 until 1671 the tower house was occupied by the Murrays of Elibank . In 1670, the Edinburgh botanic garden was founded by Dr. Robert Sibbald and Dr. Andrew Balfour using the plant collection from the Elibank private gardens of Sir Patrick Murray, 2nd Lord Elibank , following his death in September 1671. In the late 17th century, the Peel was demolished and replaced by
6206-411: The areas of Howden, Ladywell, and Knightsridge began in the late 1960s and this was followed in the 1970s by the creation of Dedrige and further development of Deans. Some of the first prominent buildings in the new town built in these decades included Riverside Primary School (the first primary school built in the new town in April 1966), Livingston Fire Station (1967 by the architects Bamber & Hall),
6313-490: The artist was able to create an 'average profile' which was the basis for the sculpture. Development in the area in 2004 threatened to demolish the sculpture but the artist managed to persuade developers to build around his work. Bathgate was home to rock band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie in the 1980s and 1990s, a success of the local college's Music Industry course. Bathgate has easy access to the M8 motorway via Junctions 3A and 4, linking
6420-470: The associated industries (brickworks, steelworks) were the main employers in Bathgate as the 19th century drew to a close. Between 1882 and 1884, Bathgate High Parish Church was constructed on Jarvey St. Designed by Wardrop and Reid, the church was built of sandstone in Romanesque architectural style . It is Category B listed. In 1904, St David's Church was built in Bathgate on George Street. Designed by
6527-409: The auspices of Holyrood Abbey at that time and paid a tenth of its income from the land to that institution. In 1315, the daughter of King Robert I of Scotland ( Robert The Bruce ), Marjorie (alternatively spelt Margery) Bruce, married Walter Stewart (or Steward) (1293–1326), the 6th Lord High Steward of Scotland. The dowry to her husband included the lands and castle of Bathgate. Walter died at
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#17328759569696634-406: The boundary with East Calder ). The area where Livingston now sits was historically dominated by oil shale mining , which is evident from the bings which still exist on much of the surrounding landscape. The designation of Livingston as a new town in the 1960s attracted new light industries to the area, with high technology and pharmaceutical companies moving into the town. Livingston formed
6741-525: The castle on 9 April 1326. This marriage is still celebrated in an annual pageant forming part of the Bathgate Procession & John Newland Festival , colloquially known as the Bathgate Procession. In the 1846 book A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland , Samuel Lewis writes: Of this ancient castle, some slight traces of the foundations only are discernible, in a morass about a quarter of
6848-545: The closure of the plant and the loss of 3,106 jobs. The 93-acre (380,000 m ) site was occupied by HMRC . In 2021 and early 2022, the Pyramids operated as the principal COVID-19 vaccine centre in West Lothian. In December 2021, it was announced that the Pyramids Business Park would become the site of a new large film and TV studio. Some previous productions at the site have included the film T2 Trainspotting and
6955-436: The community until its last service on 9 April 1882. King Malcolm IV makes reference to the original church in a charter, granting it to the monks of Holyrood Abbey . Records show that Holyrood Abbey gave the church to the abbot and monks of Newbattle Abbey in 1327. In 1606 silver ore was found at nearby Hilderston , in the shadow of Cairnpapple Hill, by a prospecting collier , Sandy Maund. This accidental discovery began
7062-471: The design on local geographic features ( drumlins ) and the shape of the surrounding bings. The pyramidal shape of the sculpture gave rise to the name of the nearby Pyramids Business park. In April 2007, a local farmer painted the sheep which graze on the pyramids bright red with a harmless sheep spray. In 1998 the artist Lumir Soukup built the earth sculpture The Bathgate Face at Wester Inch. By taking facial measurements of more than 1200 Bathgate residents,
7169-417: The development with the construction of McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Centre (reamed as the Livingston Designer Outlet in 2007). This opened in October 2000, with other work continuing into 2002. The Livingston Designer Outlet, contains a VUE multiplex cinema , a food court with many chain fast-food outlets, bars, restaurants, and cafés, as well as around 70 outlet shops. In the early 2000s, Asda constructed
7276-626: The earlier history. The area around Livingston was historically an important shale oil area, and the world's first oil boom occurred in West Lothian. This was based on oil extracted from shale , and by 1870 over 3 million tons of shale were being mined each year in the area around Livingston. Output declined with the discovery of liquid oil reserves around the world in the early 1900s, but shale mining only finally ceased in 1962. The " bings " that characterise oil shale mining in West Lothian have largely been flattened. Two shale bings nearby are scheduled monuments – Five Sisters and Greendykes. By 1898,
7383-485: The eastern edge of Livingston). Livingston North is located adjacent to the Carmondean Shopping Centre between Eliburn and Deans and is on the North Clyde Line . The station opened on 24 March 1986, concurrent with the re-introduction of passenger services on the Edinburgh to Bathgate Line . On 12 December 2010, with the completion of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link , Livingston North is now served by trains running to Glasgow Queen Street and Airdrie . Livingston South
7490-408: The evening of Monday the 26th, the wearied army stopped. But at twelve o’clock the cry, which served them for a trumpet, of 'Horse! horse!’ and 'Mount the prisoner!’ resounded through the night-shrouded town. His depiction goes on to describe how the half the army perished in the freezing weather as they headed towards the Pentland Hills . Established around 1800, the Glenmavis Distillery in Bathgate
7597-409: The history of Livingston is located in nearby Linlithgow . Livingston has three public libraries which are Almondbank Library in Craigshill, Lanthorn Library in Dedridge, and Carmondean Library in Deans. A local history library which includes items on the history of Livingston is located in nearby Linlithgow . The Scotland Japanese School (スコットランド日本語補習授業校 Sukottorando Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō ),
7704-587: The main Livingston village was recorded as having several houses, a mill, a Church of Scotland church, a United Free church, a school, and a coaching inn. The oldest church, Livingston Old Kirk, in its current form, dates from 1732 and is an example of plain Presbetryrian architecture from the Georgian period. It stands on the site of a pre-Reformation church which appears to have stood on the site from c. 1350 – c. 1650 . The nearby coaching inn
7811-531: The man bus services through Bathgate as listed below: Bathgate Railway Station is operated by Scotrail and is served by eastbound services to Edinburgh Waverley and westbound services to Helensburgh Central via Glasgow, Milngavie via Glasgow, and Balloch via Glasgow Edinburgh Airport is 13 miles (21 km) away. The local secondary schools are Bathgate Academy and St Kentigern's Academy . The Bathgate primary schools are Balbardie, St Mary's, Boghall, St Columba's, and Windyknowe and Simpson Primary, opened on
7918-466: The mine was of varying quality and by March 1613 all efforts to extract silver from the area were abandoned. Bathgate remained a very small rural community until the middle of the 19th century with only a foray by Covenanters in the 17th century to unrest the populace. Francis Groome , in the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882–84) writes: Some of the inhabitants suffered hardship and loss in
8025-490: The mining and heavy industry around the town had ceased and the town developed manufacturing industries, principally in vehicle production and later electronics before these factories closed in the late 20th century. Today Bathgate is the second largest town in West Lothian, after Livingston and serves as a regional commuter town within the Scottish Central Belt . Bathgate first enters the chronicles of history in
8132-607: The namesake of the Almondvale district, runs through the town centre. Outer Livingston districts include Wester Dechmont, Deans (including the Deans Industrial Estate), Kirkton , and Houston to the north, Craigshill to the east, Bellsquarry (including the Brucefield Industrial Estate) and Murieston to the south, and Adambrae and Kirkton Campus to the east of the town. Craigshill takes its name from
8239-548: The new town plan considered the car to be the principal form of transport, it also envisaged a series of core footpaths to connect communities under the Radburn design . In order to build, manage, and promote Livingston, a quango organisation was formed, the Livingston Development Corporation (LDC). Sir David Lowe , a local large scale farmer and businessman, was appointed chairman. Following designation of
8346-612: The new town's first public house (the Tower in Craigshill built in 1968), Craigshill school (the first secondary school built in the new town in 1969), and the 'Centre' (Livingstons shopping centre) built in 1977. Craigshill was said to exemplify the spartan, geometric approach to new town planning, with buildings composed of the Danish style Jesperson blocks and high-density, low-rise concrete homes with Scandinavian style mono-pitch roofs. By 1971,
8453-511: The new town, the first large building begun was the Corporation's own offices in 1963. Residential construction began in 1962 with the first homes to be built as part of the new town being constructed in Deans (to house corporation employees and construction workers). The first major development of the new town took place in Craigshill, with the first people moving into the newly built housing areas in April 1966 at Broom Walk. The construction of
8560-521: The plan was published in 1966 with Livingston intended as the centre of a new population area of up to 250,000 persons in the Lothians. The new town plan envisaged Livingston as a focal point for economic growth in the Lothian region, incorporating 'overspill' population from Glasgow and Edinburgh. The design incorporated a vision of mixed development, connected by a new series of roads in a grid system by means of grade separated junctions and roundabouts. While
8667-842: The responsibilities of West Lothian Council were previously the responsibility of the Livingston Development Corporation (LDC) until 1997 when the LDC was disbanded. Livingston is in the Almond Valley constituency for the Scottish Parliament , and the Member of the Scottish Parliament is Angela Constance of the Scottish National Party . Livingston is also covered by the Lothian electoral region which gives
8774-472: The retail sector in the shopping centres, supermarkets, and the health care sector such as NHS Scotland . The Witherby Publishing Group , established in 1740, is one of the oldest publishers in the United Kingdom and their offices and warehouse is located in Livingston at Navigation House. Valneva SE is a biotech company that has a manufacturing facility in Livingston which produces vaccines, including
8881-490: The road. The former Homebase and Argos stores were converted into a large Sainsbury's supermarket that opened in December 2010. Also in the town centre are discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl , the latter of which is located beside the Almondvale Stadium. Under the original Livingston plans, neighbourhood shopping centres were to be located at strategic points around the town and the first of these to be built
8988-874: The site of the British Leyland Factory in August 2007. It serves the area Wester Inch. The school is named after James Young Simpson . Bathgate is home to the football club Bathgate Thistle , winners of the Scottish Junior Cup in 2008. They play at the Creamery Park and now compete in the East of Scotland Football League . Their stadium is also used for activities such as football roadshows. Bathgate FC were active between 1893 and 1938 and played at Mill Park . Paul di Resta , former Formula One driver with Sahara Force India and now driving for Mercedes in
9095-431: The station on 1 November 1948 following the ending of passenger services on the line. In the 1980s, a site was chosen for a new railway station on the line to the east of the original station and Livingston North station opened on 24 March 1986, concurrent with the re-introduction of passenger services. The Livingston Village and Livingston Station settlements were both subsequently incorporated into Livingston new town in
9202-417: The surrounding area. It is bounded by a ring road to the east and has been purposely planned, distinguishing it from many other town centres. Howden Park is located immediately north of the town centre and adjoins Howden House , an 18th-century house which contains an arts centre and private housing. The south western edge of the town centre is dominated by retail parks . Livingston's town centre also contains
9309-509: The times of the persecution; and the insurgent army of the Covenanters, when on their march from the W to Rullion Green , spent a disastrous night at Bathgate. Robert Louis Stevenson , in the book Lay Morals, Part 2: The Pentland Rising. A Page of History further elucidates upon this night in November 1666: A report that Dalzell was approaching drove them from Lanark to Bathgate, where, on
9416-580: The town to Edinburgh, Inverclyde via Glasgow and towns in between. The A801 links Bathgate to the M9 via Polmont. Bus Services in Bathgate are co-ordinated by West Lothian Council and are provided principally by McGill's Scotland East, Lothian Country Buses , SD Travel and E&M Horsburgh. Frequent and daily direct services exist to Falkirk, Westfield, Armadale, Blackridge, Whitburn, Fauldhouse, Torphichen, Linlithgow, Broxburn, Uphall, Newbridge, Deans, Livingston, East Calder and Edinburgh. Lothian Country operates
9523-416: The town was not successful in being raised to city status, 2022 marked its 60th anniversary as a town. Livingston is the eighth-largest settlement and the third-largest town in Scotland. It is also the 171st largest settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies 30 miles (50 kilometres) from Glasgow and 15 miles (25 kilometres) from Edinburgh . The Livingston new town was planned so that the River Almond ,
9630-483: The town's population had risen to 14,000. On 9 November 1979 the Livingston UFO Incident took place, when Robert Taylor, employed by the Livingston Development Corporation, is said to have encountered a UFO on Dechmont Law and the incident was subsequently investigated by Lothian and Borders Police . It is the only UFO incident that was part of a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom . In 1984,
9737-451: The town. Hewn stones have frequently been dug from the foundations, and some kitchen-utensils of copper or brass have been found. Dating from around the same time the remains of Bathgate's former parish church still stand at Kirkton. The original 12th-century construction was absorbed by a later build in 1739 when a new church was erected on the same site. The walls of the church were consolidated in 1846. This simple whitewashed edifice served
9844-706: The two; The A89 runs east west on the north side of the M8. Livingston has a central bus terminal with seven stances located on Almondvale Avenue between the two shopping centres in the town centre. This provides regular services to surrounding towns and villages. Lothian Country Buses are the main bus operator in Livingston. Other operators include Citylink , SD Travel, Stuarts of Carluke, and Stagecoach . Livingston has buses to Edinburgh , Edinburgh Airport , Edinburgh Royal Infirmary , Glasgow , Coatbridge , Airdrie , Lanark , Dunfermline , and most West Lothian towns and villages. Livingston has three railway stations; Livingston North , Livingston South and Uphall (on
9951-400: The umbrella of Bathgate, including Blackburn , Whitburn , Stoneyburn , Armadale , Torphichen and Fauldhouse . Situated 2 miles (3 km) south of the ancient Neolithic burial site at Cairnpapple Hill , Bathgate and the surrounding area show signs of habitation since about 3500 BC and the world's oldest known reptile fossil has been found in the town. By the 12th century, Bathgate was
10058-402: The way to Easton Road where the station was. This was used for the coal-mining industries and the foundries. Bathgate has a great variety of shops. In the late 19th century the co-operative halls were built and served the community until closure in the 1980s. It provided a bakery , butchery , funeral parlour , grocery store , clothing , furniture and a dance hall. Even after the closure
10165-476: The west of Eliburn beside the present day road of Appleton Parkway. A row of cottages (known as Bogyates) also existed beside the Kirk Road forest strip but were demolished in the 20th century. The original forest strip remains with a footpath running its length, separating the houses beside Oldwood Place and Foxknowe place. Peel Primary School is a non-denominational primary school located in Eliburn. While Eliburn
10272-444: The wife of the 19th century MP Peter McLagan . It was produced by Walter MacFarlane & Co. and erected in 1878 at the crossroads with Hopetoun Street but later moved to its present position. The Bennie Museum is a local community museum in the town. The museum opened in 1989 and is run by volunteers as a charitable trust. It contains items connected with the history of Bathgate and well as exhibits of childhood life. The museum
10379-510: Was The Mall at Craigshill, which claimed to be one of the first covered shopping centres in Scotland. This was followed by the Carmondean Centre in Deans and groupings of shops in Ladywell and Murieston. Livingston has an excellent 'core path network' which is shared use, and available to pedestrians and cyclists. It connects all of the main areas of the town with shopping and work areas. It
10486-580: Was based in Roslin . Livingston used to be part of the Lothians European Parliament constituency . Livingston has 18 nursery schools , 17 primary schools , and five special schools. There are four secondary schools in the town which are Inveralmond Community High School , The James Young High School , St. Margaret's RC Academy and Deans Community High School . West Lothian College offers higher and further education and its central campus
10593-411: Was built in 1760 and the poet Robert Burns is said to have been a guest. The nearby Livingston Mill was also built around the same date, in 1770 although there is evidence that suggests there may have been a mill on the site since the 14th or 15th century. Around one mile (1.5 kilometres) north of Livingston village, there was a railway station with a smaller settlement called Livingston Station which
10700-486: Was completed in 1988 by Land Securities . The centre was extended by 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m ) in 1996/1997, creating phase 2 of the development, bringing the size of the centre to over 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m ). It has since been renamed "The Almondvale Centre". The Centre was completed in its current structure on 16 October 2008. The total development has around 155 shops and eating establishments. In early 1999, construction started on phase 3 of
10807-555: Was completed in June 2009 and officially opened by then- First Minister Alex Salmond on 25 November 2009. The Civic Centre is located just north of The Centre on the bank of the River Almond. It was home to the divisional headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police until the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, as well as the sheriff and justice of the peace , West Lothian Council , the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service ,
10914-683: Was discovered in East Kirkton Quarry , Bathgate in 1987; it is now in the Museum of Scotland . Early in 1992, the US company Motorola opened a mobile phone manufacturing (Personal Communications Sector or PCS) plant at Easter Inch in Bathgate (now the Pyramids Business Park). In 2001, the global market for mobile phones dropped sharply and as a consequence, despite pressure from the highest levels of UK government, on 24 April 2001 Motorola announced
11021-462: Was endowed by a Jamaican plantation owner John Newlands. The building later became part of Balbardie Primary School, and later still was changed into private housing. By the opening of Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway in 1849, local mines and quarries were extracting coal , lime , and ironstone . James Young's discovery of cannel coal in the Boghead area of Bathgate, and the subsequent opening of
11128-512: Was essentially formed from the relocation of Meadowbank Thistle F.C. from Edinburgh. While in 1980, the LDC owned 90% of the town's housing, by 1996 this had reduced to some 40% through sales and increasing private home ownership. The Livingston Development Corporation guided Livingston until its mandate expired on 22 March 1997 and the town was transferred to the West Lothian Council . The last major construction operation carried out by
11235-406: Was eventually acquired by the Earl of Rosebery in 1828 and demolished in 1840. The area of the former gardens and house is now a local garden and park, named Peel park. The formal layout and planting in the park reflect the historic gardens, and a new peel mound and moat was recreated to reflect the earlier history. In the 19th century, a barracks and set of farmhouses (since demolished) existed to
11342-567: Was originally a cinema, completed in 1938 and later renovated in 1995. It is in the Art Deco style. The local cinema, Bathgate Cinema, located on the site of the old St Davids Church closed in April 2024. The central town square of Bathgate is known as the Steelyard which lies to the north of George Place. The Steelyard has a memorial fountain, the McLagan Fountain, provided with support from
11449-460: Was purchased in 1831 by John McNab, who produced the eponymous MacNab's Celebrated Glenmavis Dew from the site until the distillery's closure in 1910. In 1885, the distillery was producing 80,000 gallons of single malt a year which was transported to Scotland, England and the colonies. In 1831 Bathgate Academy was built. Designed by the Edinburgh architects R & R Dickson this is Bathgate's only large public building of historic merit. It
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