Publications

e-mail Rosie

Updated 24 June 2008

• Publications about Armadale
• Publications by Armadalians
• Publications about Armadalians
• Armadale Writers (brief biographies) under construction
• West Lothian Writers
• Publications about West Lothian Subjects
• Armadale-related CDs / DVDs / Films / Videos
• Interested in Scottish Archaeology?  Here are some Useful History Texts
• Extracts from 1980s magazines (Armadale and area) courtesy of Ron Dingwall

• History of Armadale Association have produced many publications about Armadale over the last seventeen years.   Their list of publications is now only on their dedicated webpage.

• Please note that the following is not a comprehensive list, but merely what I have encountered so far.  If you know of an Armadale-related publication that would interest other visitors to the site, please let me know.

Armadale in Minutes by Robert Kerr, produced by The History of Armadale Association, price £5 (+ postage and packing for those outside Armadale). A dust-jacketed hardback of 219 pages with 56 photos/illustrations and 3 maps.   It can be purchased locally or ordered from Betty Hunter, Secretary of The History of Armadale Association:   

HAAsecretaryarmadale.org.uk  . 

Why not visit the HAA page to read about their activities?

Some of the surnames included in the book's text:

Addie, Aitken, Anderson, Archer, Arthur, Baillie, Baird, Ballantyne, Bamburgh, Barnard, Baxter, Bell, Beveridge, Binning, Bishop, Black, Borza, Boyd, Brock, Brown, Bryce, Bryden, Byers, Caesar, Cairns, Calder, Calderhead, Cameron, Campbell, Carr, Chalmers, Cherry, Clark, Clarkson, Cochran, Cochrane, Collie, Conner, Corsie, Cowan, Craig, Crawford, Cunningham, Currie, Cuthbart, Dalling, Daves, Davidson, Davie, Davis, Dennistoun, Donald, Donaldson, Donnelly, Douglas, Druce, Drummond, Drysdale, Duncan, Easton, Edwards, Elder, Farquhar, Ferrier, Finlay, Finnlay, Fleming, Forrester, Forsyth, Frew, Gall, Gardner, Gartshore, Geddes, Gentleman, Gibb, Gibson, Gilchrist, Gillespie, Gillon, Gilmar, Gordon, Gorman, Gowans, Graham, Gray, Gregor, Greig, Grey, Hailstones, Hall, Hamilton, Harrower, Harvie, Hickman, Honeyman, Hope, Howatt, Hunter, Hynd-Brown, Inglis, Kelly, Kerr, Kirk, Lawson, Learmonth, Lees, Leggat, Leishman, Liddell, Longmuir, Love, MacAdam, MacDonald, MacDougal, Mackay, MacLachlan, MacLellan, Mallace, Marcella, Marr, Marshall, Matheson, Maxwell, McDonald, McDougal, McDowall, McGarrie, McGowan, McGregor, McHardy, McIntosh, McKinnon, McLachlan, McMillan, McNab, McNair, McNicol, McPhail, Millar, Miller, Milne, Moffat, More, Morrison, Muir, Newton, O'Donnell, Parker, Paterson, Pollock, Prentice, Quin, Ramsay, Ranken, Rankin, Readman, Reid, Rennie, Roberts, Robertson, Rodger, Rodgers, Rosebery, Russell, Sharp, Shaw, Shearer, Sibbald, Sim, Simpson, Sinclair, Smith, Snedden, Sneddon,  Steel, Stevenson, Stewart, Swan, Syson, Teape, Temple, Tennant, Thomson, Turner, Walker, Wark, Watson, Waugh, Wetherspoune, White, Williams, Wilson, Wood, Wylie, Wyper, Young.

.....................................

Also recommended:

Old Armadale and Blackridge by John Hood, price £7.99, see Stenlake .   It’s a paperback of 52 pages, but it has 55 photos of Armadale and Blackridge on its covers and inner pages. 

If you are well-acquainted with Armadale, you may be interested in The Observations by Jane Harris (named by the book industry, on Thursday 19 May 2007, as one of the 25 authors who are seen to be the future of British writing). 

One of the sources for her first novel is Armadale's Past and Present.  Unfortunately, the name of the author of Armadale's history is quoted incorrectly in the novel's acknowledgements.  It should be R. Hynd-Brown.

January 2008 Update: We're grateful to Sarah Savitt from Faber for letting us know that the error has been corrected.

Can you identify the local references in the novel?

1. Armadale Gala Day Programme 2007: If you were in the the 2nd Year (1967-8) with Mrs Mulholland at Armadale Academy; in 2a (1976 - 1977) with Mrs Forsyth at Armadale Primary School; in 4a (1979 - 1980) with Mrs Gray at Eastertoun Primary School; in Primary 5 (1983 - 1984) with Mrs Connerton at Armadale Primary School, you will be interested to see the photos in the Gala Day programme.

2. Our Town, Our Team ARMADALE......! researched by Stuart Borrowman, John Lee and Jimmy Smeaton in aid of Armadale Thistle Supporters' Club, printed by Inprint, published by Armadale Thistle Supporters' Club with financial assistance from West Lothian Council, available from stuartborrowmanbtinternet.com or JOHNLEE1940aol.com  £2.50

3. Gowff - Golf  The Boys Fae The Dale, researched and written by Andy Anderson, May 2004

4. Armadale: Past and Present  by R. Hynd-Brown, 1906, printed by F. Johnston & Co., proprietors of Linlithgowshire Gazette, online since 2002 courtesy of Jim McGregor

5. Armadale Today 1982,  an expanded version of the 1978 booklet, Directory of Organisations in the Armadale Area, produced by the Community Centre and the Community Council, (Comment from Rosie: a wonderful snapshot of Armadale's life in the early 1980s, with community advice and organisations and also full of poems by local people)

6. Armadale Town Guide 1989, produced by Armadale Community Council

7. Armadale Public House Society Ltd, October 1901 - October 1951, (booklet)

8. Armadale in Old Picture Postcards, by William F. Hendrie, 1998, published by European Library, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands (Comment from Rosie: an interesting collection of photos with accompanying commentary)

9. Nursing at Tippethill in the 1940s, Booklet of Reminiscences of Mary (Falconer) Flynn (booklet), published by West Lothian Council : Local History Library

10. A News-Sheet Outlining Some of the Important Events of the year 1881 in Armadale, Linlithgowshire, researched and written by Jan Malloch as part of study for Certificate in Scottish Family History Studies 1998

11. Armadale Small Area Statistics, Census 1991, General Register Office for Scotland

12. A Look at the Armadale Works of United Fireclay Products, article reprint, Euroclay, Jan/Feb 1979

Please note: The considerable research of Robert Kerr is shown in a separate section below

1. Poems - A Puckle Mair by Davie Kerr  Review in Scots Tung Wittins

2. A Puckle Poems by Davie Kerr, 2000, printed and bound by Essential Print, Whitburn.

3. People's Stories: A Study of Everyday Literacies in Armadale  (Read the background to the project)

4. Poetry of the Dell (Being Sketches of the Poets and Poetry of the District of Woodend, Torphichen, Linlithgowshire), re-printed from the West Lothian Courier, 1887, Laurence Gilbertson, Jubilee Hall, Bathgate.

5. My Daily War Diary 1940 - 1946, written and published by Tom Fleming, 2003, printed by Athenaeum Press Ltd, Gateshead

6. Once in Every Lifetime by Tom Hanlin, 1945, Nicholson and Watson

7. Yesterday Will Return by Tom Hanlin, 1946, Nicholson & Watson

8. The Miracle at Cardenrigg by Tom Hanlin, 1949, Victor Gollancz Ltd, London

Armadalian Robert Kerr has produced many manuscripts, study papers and books over the years, and so it seemed fitting to give him his own section!

All of Robert Kerr's writing and maps of the West Lothian area can be seen by contacting West Lothian Library Headquarters, Connolly House, Hopefield Road, Blackburn, West Lothian, EH47 7HZ

Information courtesy of Sybil Cavanagh

1. Armadale in Minutes, A Chronological History by Robert Kerr, 2008, HAA  Launched 12 March 2008 - available from Armadale Library, Post Office and Woolshop at £5 Postage for the book is approx. £1.42 (UK) and £6.52 (Overseas)

2. A History of Armadale, West Lothian, (86 pages), 1996

3. A History of Barbauchlaw, (2 pages)

4. A History of Bathville, (5 pages), 1996

5. A History of Bathville II, (6 pages), 1996

6. A History of the Ancient Barony of Ogilface in the Parish of Torphichen, 1993

7. A Revised History of the Ancient Barony of Ogilface: Giving owners or lessees of lands of Barony, 1994

8. A History of the Land Occupied by the Ancient Barony of Ogilface in the Parish of Torphichen, Manuscript 1994

9. A History of the Estate and Lands of Cathlaw, (2 pages), 1996

10. A History of the West Lothian Town of Armadale and Surrounding Area, manuscript, 1992

11. A History of the West Lothian Town of Armadale and Surrounding Area, manuscript, 1994

12. A History of Westfield and District near Armadale, (3 pages), 1994

13. A History of Woodend, near Armadale, West Lothian, single sheet, 1995

14. Bridgecastle and Bridgehouse, (2 pages), 1998

15. Gowanbank: Notes on Gowanbank, north of Blackridge, (½ page), 1998

16. Plan of Lands of Hardhill and Lands of Harestanes in the Ancient Parish of Bathgate: Showing boundaries of the two estates, and the farms and other notable sites they included, 1990

17. Sketch map showing the boundaries of Couston, Bridgecastle,  Barbauchlaw, Hardhill and Polkemmet Estates, sketch map, 1990

18. Sketch maps of Armadale c1850 and of surroundings c1773 and 1820, sketch map, 1990

19. A History of Blackridge, Woodend and the Lands of Ogilface, 1995

20. Bedlormie House, West Lothian, (2 pages), 1998

21. A History of Balbardie, Ballencrieff, Barbauchlaw, Bathgate, Boghall and Boghead Estates, 1995

22. A History of Bathgate, manuscript, 1993

23. A History of Bathgate, typescript, 1994

24. A History of Bathgate, typescript, 1996

25. A History of Bathgate, (78 pages) 1997

26. A History of Bathgate, (edited by Robert Harkness), 2006

27. A History of Lochcote Estate and Lands, (6 pages), 1996

28. Historic Map of Bathgate, sketch map, 1990

29. Sketch map of Bathgate: farms and estates, with dates, sketch map, 1990

30. Sketch map of Bathgate: industrial: mainly industrial places of employment (pits, quarries, etc.) c1850, sketch map, 1990

31. Sketch map of Bathgate c1898: Historic places in and near Bathgate town, overlaid on road and rail system of c1898 (with dates), sketch map, 1990

32. Sketch map of the farms and estates of Bathgate district - with dates: Historic Maps, map 1

33. Sketches of Bathgate Buildings: S3

34. A History of Places within and near Beecraigs Country Park in West Lothian, to be read with the historic map of the park, 1997

35. Lochcote - Miscellaneous Information and Map of Lochcote Estate

36. Historic map of Beecraigs Country Park, West Lothian: Scale c 6 inches:1 mile, 1997

37. Sketch map of Beecraigs Country Park, West Lothian: Showing boundaries of earlier farms of Whitebaulks, Hillhouse, Balvormie lands and many of the old field names, A3 sketch map, 1997

38. A History of Blackburn, Stoneyburn, Seafield and District, 1994

39. A History of Bo'ness and District, manuscript, 1994

40. A History of South Queensferry, Kirkliston and district, 1995

41. A History of South Queensferry, Kirkliston, Winchburgh and the Parishes of Dalmeny and Abercorn, 1994

42. A History of Broxburn, Uphall and Ecclesmachan, 1995

43. A History of the Parishes of Strathbrock, Uphall and Ecclesmachan (including Broxburn), 1994

44. A History of Fauldhouse, Longridge and District, 1994

45. A History of Fauldhouse, Longridge and District, (3 pages), 1995

46. A History of Whitburn, East Whitburn and District, 1994

47. A History of Linlithgow, (29 pages), 1994

48. A History of Linlithgow, (44 pages), 1995

49. A History of Livingston Parish, 1994

50. A History of Livingston New Town Area, 1994

51. A History of Livingston New Town Area, 1995

52. A History of the Three Calders and Kirknewton Parish, 1994

53. A History of Torphichen, West Lothian: the first 4 thousand years, photocopied manuscript, 1991

54. A History of Torphichen, West Lothian: Book 2, pages 13 - 20, brothers, knights and preceptors, 1992

55. How James Sandilands became Lord Torphichen.  Also the first tenants and farms of Torphichen Parish.

56. Assorted Information on Torphichen's History, (10 pages)

57. Persons Buried in Torphichen Kirk Graveyard, handwritten

58. The Estate and Lands of Wallhouse, (5 pages), 1996

59. The Well, the Square, Torphichen, (2 pages), 1998

60. Torphichen's First Council Housing Scheme at Greenside, (2 pages), 1996

61. A History of West Lothian (County and District), manuscript, 1995

62. Glimpses of West Lothian Past, (8 pages), 1998

63. Glimpses of West Lothian Past, 2006

64. Notes on West Lothian Place Names, manuscript

65. Robert Kerr's Histories of West Lothian Towns and Villages: Vol 1, typescript

66. Robert Kerr's Histories of West Lothian Towns and Villages: Vol 2, typescript

67. Robert Kerr's Histories of West Lothian Towns and Villages: Vol 3, handwritten

Annie Drummond's Treasured Memory by Pamela Blevins in The Ivor Gurney Journal, 1997, (love affair of Annie Drummond, an Armadale nurse, and Ivor Gurney, poet and composer and patient in Bangour War Hospital, 1917)

Annie Drummond d 1959, of Armadale, nursed Ivor Gurney, poet and composer, at Bangour Hospital. 

After Annie Drummond McKay's death in 1959, her daughter discovered her mother's treasured possessions, which included a copy of Poems of Today inscribed 'To Nurse Drummond with thanks for joy and best wishes for all things to come, September 1918, From Ivor Gurney, S. Albans'  Also a score of The Western Playland, which he had dedicated to her.

From October 1917 to March 1918, they were close, but a break ensued. 

Although an intermediary tried to contact Annie on his behalf, and sent her The Western Playland, Annie did not reply.  By this time she was happily married to James McKay in Boston, Gurney having been certified insane 3 weeks after Annie's marriage. 

Gurney died in an asylum in 1938 and Annie was also affected by mental illness later, dying in Medfield State Hospital in 1959.

See The Ivor Gurney Journal 1997, Annie Drummond's treasured memory by Pamela Blevins.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List of Tom Hanlin's papers held by the National Library of Scotland

Tom Hanlin, by Hugh Macpherson in Scottish Book Collector, Edinburgh, 1989

Pithead Metaphysics: Tom Hanlin's 'Once in Every Lifetime', by Manfred Malzahn in ScotLit (Aberdeen: Association for Scottish Literary Studies), 1992

under construction

DR ANDERSON: The Sport of Pigeon Racing (1947)

JAMES BALLANTYNE

WILLIAM CAMERON

1801: born in Dunipace, Stirlingshire, son of a woollen manufacturer of Denny. 

c1818: his father died and he had to find employment.

1826: he was appointed as Armadale's first schoolmaster. He lived at Whitockbrae.

1833: he moved to Glasgow and became a merchant.  He wrote many nostalgic poems about his time in the Armadale area.  Some of his finest songs were set to music by Matthew Wilson.  William Cameron died in 1877.

Below: Birthplace of Jessie Harvie of Barbauchlaw Mill. She inspired Armadale's first schoolmaster to create a poem, Jessie o' the Mill, later published as the popular broadside ballad Jessie o' the Dell. 

JC: Sweet Armadale (1940); Doun the Auld Wheatock Brae (1940)

TOM HANLIN b1907 d 1953

An exhibition about Armadale's novelist, Tom Hanlin,  at Armadale Library, April - May 2008.

Tom Hanlin showed promise at school and was interested in becoming a writer from an early age. However, he had to leave school at fourteen years of age to begin work. He worked on a farm for a year, and then he worked down the mines for the next twenty years, until 1946. As a result of an accident, he spent three months in the Royal Infirmary. During that time he wrote five stories, which he was able to sell. One of them, Sunday in the village, won the annually awarded Sheffield University Prize, available to those who were 'manual workers in or about a coal mine, or have been injured when so employed'.

Later, he won the Big Ben prize of £500 for his long story, which became his first novel, Once in every lifetime, popular in Europe and Scandinavia, translated into more than a dozen languages, and eventually in a BBC radio version.
In 1945, he became a full-time writer and his story Bright and cheerful is the day (which includes what is believed to be an overview of Armadale) appeared in the Virginia Quarterly magazine that autumn. In 1946, his second novel, Yesterday will return, was published.
He was a dedicated, conscientious writer who was interested in the process and in the business of writing. One notable essay, written in the 1940s, considered the impact of television and the cinema. Once in every lifetime was serialised in Woman's Home Companion. It was a popular story of a man in hospital falling in love with a nurse, and how, despite an unfulfilled relationship, her influence guided him (a familiar story to those aware of Ivor Gurney's relationship with his Armadale nurse, Annie Drummond).

In 1949, his novel The Miracle at Cardenrigg was published. His move to London was followed by the publication of his short stories in magazines such as Atlantic Monthly, Lilliput, The Strand Magazine, as well as Virginia Quarterly. He was offered lucrative work in Hollywood, but he rejected it as he did not want to lose his independence.

In his late 40s, he developed heart and breathing problems, which led to his death in 1953, leaving behind over thirty short stories, as well as novels and essays, and eight radio plays, two of which were broadcast.
One commentator summed up his work as 'motive and pressure and destiny made plain' because his fascination with detail and the overall design of things is often demonstrated in his portrayal of wider issues through the minutiae of daily life.
Essay (won the Arthur Markham Memorial prize awarded by Sheffield University): Sunday in the village
Articles: The novel is doomed; Tension-snap-relief
Novels: Once in every lifetime; The Miracle of Cardenrigg; Nor is the night starless; Yesterday will return; One summer is all
Short stories: Temper the wind; Bright and cheerful is the day; My shadow on the side of the tunnel; And always will be; Strange the way
Plays including: One more chance; Beneath the surface

See National Library of Scotland: MSS.27417 - 27425
Also: Scottish Writers: Tom Hanlin by Hugh Macpherson in the Scottish Book Collector, No.10, Feb. 1989, PG19-20
 

Mrs. M. HUNTER

Tae Rabbie; Yesterday;

WILLIAM JEFFREY
William Jeffrey, son of manager of Woodend, died in Glasgow in 1946.

DAVID KERR

A Chapter's Close; A Puckle Poems; Poems - A Puckle Mair

ROBERT KERR

He was born in Armadale in 1927, son of James and Mary KERR. He was educated at Armadale Primary and the old Bathgate Academy before continuing his studies at Glasgow School of Art and Herriot Watt College.  He worked in the various parts of the building industry, initially as an apprentice architect with Thomas Roberts, Architects, of Bathgate and latterly as a draughtsman / surveyor for West Lothian Council.  His interests included the Scouts movement; playing in the Armadale and Whiterigg Pipe bands; sports, leading to his training as a football referee; politics and Scotland's heritage and culture.  He has produced a considerable library of manuscripts, research papers and books about Armadale and the West Lothian area since his retirement in 1991.  A few of the many publications are shown on this page.

THOMAS LEARMONTH

Sweet Armadale (Parody on Bonnie Strathyre)

You can sing o' the hielands and hillsides sae braw,
Aye o' dark Lochnagar and the Comries an' a'.
But I'll sing of the beauty surrounding the vale
That lies on the north side of sweet Armadale.

I see in the distance the Ochils in view,
Asleep in the silence and saft, hazy hue.
And a sigh of content in my breast I inhale
When I'm roving the north side of sweet Armadale.

Doon the auld Wheattock Brae lies the road to the Glen,
Where echoes the blackbird in yon shady den.
And the Scottish bluebell ever tender and frail,
You'll find on the north side of sweet Armadale.

The Barbauchlaw runs past, it reflects on the trees,
And the bright butterfly flits awa' in the breeze.
And the red setting sun sets a glow o'er the vale,
That lies on the north side of sweet Armadale.

By the late Mrs. M. Murgatroyd of Unity Terrace, Armadale

THOMAS SHARP

Ironstone, a celebration of new writing from West Lothian, issue one, edited by Magi Gibson, published by West Lothian Council, 2005

Ironstone, a celebration of new writing from West Lothian, issue two, published by West Lothian Council, 2005

Versions, A Third Anthology of Poems by members of Quill (West Lothian) (Quill members meet every second Monday at Bathgate Community Centre to write and help with each other's poetry.  Details from Secretary Donnie MacNeill, 01506 431389)

Publications about West Lothian Subjects, or including West Lothian Subjects

1. Scots Words and their Meanings as used in West Lothian,  produced by The West Lothian Broadly Scots Society, 2nd edition, 2001

2. Where were you, when spitfires flew? Life on the Home Front, A collection of stories by 40 West Lothian residents who kept the home fires burning, compiled by members of West Lothian History and Amenity Society, produced under the Home Front Recall scheme, funds provided by the Big Lottery Fund.

3. Caunle, Caunle, Birning Bricht, Candle making in the Scottish Shale Oil Industry, by David Kerr, 2005, West Lothian Local History Library.

4. The Wee Bangour Express, booklet written by Rev. A.D. Stirling, 2000, West Lothian Council Libraries, Local History Library.

5. The Winchburgh Murders, booklet produced by The Local Studies Department, WL Council Library Services

6. County Survey Report, West Lothian County Planning Authority, 1970

7. Capital of Silicon Glen. West Lothian: transformed for good?, written by Stuart Borrowman, published by Drumduff Publications, December 2000, printed by Hugh K. Clarkson and Sons, West Calder

8. Foundlings -  West Lothian's Abandoned Children (booklet), published by West Lothian Council Libraries: Local History Library 2000

9. Routes Across West Lothian, A Transport History Map, produced by West Lothian History and Amenity Society, printed by Nimmos, Edinburgh

10. Linlithgow in Early Victorian Times, A study based on the 1841 Census of the Royal Burgh, by Andrina Baillie,  published by West Lothian Council : Local History Library, 2006

11. The Gemme's a Bogey, Traditional Scots Rhymes collected by Mary Ferrie, reprint courtesy of Awards for All, Heritage Lottery Fund, May 2003

12. Blackridge (A Census Analysis) by Jimmy Borrowman

13. Behind God's Back, A History of Blackridge in West Lothian, by Stuart Borrowman, published by West Lothian Council, November 2005

14. Blackridge Yesteryear (a local history), by Jimmy Borrowman, 1988

15. A  History of Blackridge by Stuart Borrowman, 1981

16. Discovering West Lothian, by W.F. Hendrie, published by John Donald Publishers Ltd, August 1997

17. West Lothian, An Illustrated Architectural Guide, by Richard Jaques and Charles McKean, published by The Rutland Press, September 1994

18. West Lothian Place Names, by John Garth Wilkinson, published by Torphin House, August 1992

19. Whispers from the Back of Beyond; Your Guide to Researching Family History in West Lothian, Scotland, written and published by Matthew Fry, August 2000

20. Monumental Inscriptions in West Lothian (pre-1855), by  John Fowler Mitchell, published by Scottish Genealogy Society, December 1975

21. The Poets and Poetry of Linlithgowshire, Alex M. Bisset, John Menzies and Co, Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1896

22. Torphichen by Jack Smith, 1997

23. The Buildings of Scotland, Lothian except Edinburgh, by Colin McWilliam, published by Butler and Tanner Ltd, Frome and London, 1978

24. Place Names of West Lothian, by Angus MacDonald, published by Oliver and Boyd, 1941

25. Mining The Lothians by Guthrie Hutton,  Stenlake Publishing, 1998

26. From Starlaw to Burngrange, West Lothian Mining Deaths and Disasters, 1870 - 1947, produced by West Lothian District Libraries Local Studies Department, 1996

27. West Lothian Slavery and the Slave Trade, produced by West Lothian Local History Library, 2007

28. 50 Glimpses of West Lothian Past and Present, by McGonagal 2nd

29. Lothian, A Historical Guide, by Mark Collard, 1998

30. Airdrie Weans and Bathgate Bairns by Isobel Simpson, published by J. J. Simpson, 1997

31. Model Lodging Houses of West Lothian, produced by The Local Studies Dept of West Lothian District Library HQ

32. West Lothian Wildlife, Annual Review 96, West Lothian Natural History Report, ed Martin Collinson, 1996

33. West Lothian Wildlife, Annual Review No. 2, West Lothian Natural History Report, ed Martin Collinson, 1997

34. Forts, Farms and Furnaces, Archaeology in the Central Scotland Forest, RCAHMS

35. Torphichen Kirk by Jack Smith, 2006

36. Standing Witnesses, An Illustrated Guide to the Scottish Covenanters, by Thorbjörn Campbell, Saltire Society, Edinburgh 1996

37. Scottish Collieries, An Inventory of the Scottish Coal Industry in the Nationalised Era, by Miles K Oglethorpe, RCAHMS and The Scottish Mining Museum Trust, June 2006

38. Memories of West Lothian Boxers and Their Times by Jim Duffy

39. The First Edinburgh-Glasgow Royal Mail Coaches - 3. Middle Route (Paper) by Bill Cochrane (with useful references for further reading/research)

40. The Third Statistical Account of Scotland Vol XXI, The County of West Lothian, ed by Patrick Cadell, Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1992. Note that this volume reflects the county before the 1975 reorganisation of local government.

41. Twixt Forth & Clyde by AG Williamson, published by Putnam, London, first pub 1942

42. Jails, Clinks and Lock-ups; crimes and punishment in West Lothian. Text of the Bennie Museum Spring lecture, May 1998.

43. RCHMS: Tenth Report with Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of Midlothian and Westlothian, Edinburgh 1929

44. The Bathgate Book Maps, Up-to-date survey and maps drawn by Dorothy Slater

45. Scots Words and their Meanings as used in West Lothian, produced by The West Lothian Broadly Scots Society, printed by Hot off The press, Livingston, 2008

A Daunder Round Armadale, produced by The History of Armadale Association, is a video produced in the hope that it will stimulate interest among walkers and other community groups, in some of the historic countryside walks around our town. 1999

Etna Brickworks 16mm film showing production of bricks at the works.

Etna Brickworks Advertisement, supported by the Scottish Museums Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, between October 2002 and March 2004, which involved children and parents in the creation of multimedia advertisements for products and services represented in the museum collection.

Looking at the Dale: Armadale in Old Photographs, CD devised and produced by Zoe Wright for West Lothian Libraries.

• The Landscape of Scotland, A Hidden History by C R Wickham-Jones, Tempus, 2001

• But the Walls Remained, A survey of unroofed rural settlement depicted on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map of Scotland, RCAHMS and Historic Scotland, 2002

• The Castles of Scotland by Martin Coventry, Birlinn, 2006

• Scottish Prehistory by Richard Oram, Birlinn, 1997

• Castles and Tower Houses of the Scottish Clans 1450 - 1650 by Stuart Reid, illustrated by Graham Turner, Osprey Publishing, 2006

• The Forts of Celtic Britain by Angus Konstam, illustrated by Peter Bull, Osprey Publishing, 2006

courtesy of Ron Dingwall

Dale News + Views, first edition, Editorial Board: Bobby Laidlaw, YOPs Supervisor; Grace Harris, Armadale; Linda Emms, Armadale; Paula Watson, Armadale; 3 YOP trainees (Identifications variable).

8 pages, which include: an editorial; congratulations to Bill Bailey on title choice; an article on local history; Armadale Venture Scout Unit report; Armadale Ranger Guide Unit advertisement; Your Own Say (a local article by Bill Bailey); advertisements on behalf of local businesses.

"HOW ARMADALE BEGAN

     After the building of the road, Carron Iron company set up mines to dig for the coal that had originally been worked by the locals.  Miners were brought in, but as accommodation was scarce many built huts for themselves.  John Russell, a joiner, noticed the demand for housing.  He secured feu near the cross where he set up a workshop and a house.  The feu was granted by Sir William Honeyman, Bart of Armadale on the 4 August 1795.  The town was born."

"Armadale Primary School by Mrs. Hadden
In Queen Victoria's Golden Age
Our School wis just the thing
Weans wrote on slates, had wooden plates
Wi a brass school bell to ring.

The heating system in the school
Wis the very latest one,
By love, it worked wi gusto
On coal, ten bob a ton.

This may come as quite a shock,
Auld Queen Vic's expired
The roof leaks, the woodwork creaks,
The auld grey walls are tired.

All over Lothian Region
There are new schools by the score,
Even here in Armadale
We're the only auld yin o' four.

Big renavations were agreed
The teachers jumped wi' glee,
An' aw the mammys o' the weans
Wir glad this wis tae be.

Then the plans wir "cut" again
It really made us sick.
Right in the middle o' the holidays
Whit a dirty trick!

All the weans in Lothian
Should be treated just the same
An' if we git wir fair share,
We'll haud naebody tae blame.

Here's good news! our upgrading
Has started now at last.
Let's hope the worries of the school
Will be burried in the past."

Dale News + Views, Christmas Edition 1982.

8 pages, which include: an editorial; a recipe for Cabbage and Potato Pie; an article about local history; a poem by a local poet; an advertisement aimed at 16 - 21 year olds on behalf of the Youth Employed Club offering 'Snooker, Table Tennis, Trips away, Badminton, Basketball, Football' at Armadale Community Education Centre; advertisements on behalf of Armadale Pre-school Playgroup, Armadale Adult Unemployed Group, the 28th West Lothian Scout Group, the Gunbro School of Dancing, and local businesses; Isobell Bell's Music Review.

"OGILFACE CASTLE

     Thereafter the lands of the Barony were broken up and the Barony ceased to exist, but the name can still be found to this day in Blackridge, a street named Ogilface Crescent."

"Many poems have been written about Armadale and Woodend as well as the scenery along the Glen scenery which we as Armadalians fail to appreciate. This poem was written by Mr. James Ballantyne of Woodend.

THE FAIR MAID OF WOODEND
Poets hae sung o' maidens fair,
Wi' rosy cheeks and gouden hair,
But there is nane can half compare
Wi' Woodends bonnie lassie.

She's aye sae modest trig an' clean,
O' maidens fair she is the queen,
I'm shair the like was never seen,
O' Woodends bonnie lassie.

Not e'en the "Maid o' Birkinshaw",
Nor "Jessie o' the Dell" sae braw,
Wha wi' her Willie strolled the twa,
Apuin' nits fu' cheery.

The bard who sang his merry lays,
Amang Barbauchlaws bonnie braes,
Whaur aft he pu'd in bygone days,
Primroses for his dearie.

The maiden fair of whom he sang,
Till a' the hills an' valleys rang,
When strollin' the sweet flo'ers amang,
Wi' her, his bonnie Jessie.

So like him noo I fair wad sing,
My byre, though feeble in the string,
Till a' the meads an' valleys ring,
In praise o' Woodends lassie.

She's sweet and worthy higher praise,
Than my puir muse is fit tae raise,
But sing I will my humble lays,
Tae Woodends bonnie lassie.

An' if it e'er should be my lot,
Tae tak' a wife an' big a cot,
Ye guiding powers refuse me not,
My ain', my bonnie lassie."
 

The TRIANGLE, April 1988: The community newspaper serving Armadale Blackridge Westfield

Local election runners; local business advertisements; notices on behalf of community groups such as the Blackridge Community Action Group; Armadale Playscheme; Armadale Good Neighbour Network; Armadale Strollers 50+ group; the Sunshine Club; Armadale Community Enterprise's Seminar for local unemployed; Indoor Bowling Club results Articles about: YTS; lack of facilities for young people in Armadale; Westfield Community Centre Steering Committee; School in the Community; Grant Knox and Armadale Bowling Club; Armadale Academy Cross Country Review; Review of The House Martins 1987 Tour; Whither Blackridge? (extract from the last article below)

"Whither Blackridge? (J. Borrowman)

As a native of Blackridge - if asked - I would say that probably the best thing that happened in my lifetime in the village was the building of council houses particularly the first big scheme - The Clachan. It freed many tenants from the inadequacies of the miners' rows and the political and economic control of the United Collieries. Picture it for example where I was brought up. The Top Terrace. Outside, dry lavatories, with the consequent epidemics of scarlet fever and diphtheria raging periodically, or overworked women doing massive washings in a tub on the outside pavements.
...demand for coal was the basic reason for the development from a scattered farming population of 94 in 1841 to a fairly stable population of predominantly miners and their families of 2147 to 2126 in 1951. Today we have 1629 (1981).
As a youngster and as a youth we had at least 3 local pits (all United Collieries) Westrigg, Standhill, and The Craigs (new pit) with Netherton Mine, Blairmuckhill and Woodend fairly adjacent. We had three quarries, Westcraigs, Blairhill and (shortlived) Ogilface.
Westrigg pit was the flagship of the United Collieries with its washery, workshops, stables, blacksmith shop, rent office (for non mining tenants), coke ovens. It also produced the electricity for most of their houses. Known locally as the sprays many a young lad took his first illicit dip in its waters.
Indeed when one is young one tends to ignore the bad things and remember the more pleasant time....."
 

"School in the Community

Projects being undertaken range from making wooden toys, furniture to wrought iron gates and planters, instruction on basic woodworking and metalworking skills are available and credit should go to the staff at Armadale Academy who have supported adult involvement......"