NEWSLETTER No. 2016/3 November 2016
Linlithgow in Autumn
Linlithgow Loch, the Palace and St Michael’s Parish Church, as viewed from the road to
Bonnytoun Farm on 1 November. The trees looked much greener than usual for the
time of year! The fields at this point now form the venue for the annual ‘Party at the
Palace’ two-day event.
Page 2 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Contents Chairman’s Report Page
Help Needed with Distribution of Newsletter The Way Forward and the Proposed Change to Charitable Status (SCIO)
Events Programme Burgh Beautiful Receives ‘Outstanding’ Award
A Quarter Century of Local History Planning Report
Burgh Beautiful – News from the Potting Shed! Website and Membership Reports Executive Committee of Linlithgow Civic Trust
Publications from Linlithgow Civic Trust
2
3 4
5 6
8 10
12 15 15
16 Images – Thanks to Neil Barnes, Sybil Cavanagh, Hazel Duguid, Chris Long, Kirsty Leonard,
Ron Smith and Gavin & Averil Stewart for providing, or giving their permission to use, images
in this issue.
Chairman’s Report Chris Long, Chairman What has the Civic Trust been doing recently? Since the summer, members of
the Executive Committee have been involved with the following:
The McCarthy Stone development at Templars Court: letters to McCarthy
Stone have been sent and articles have been submitted to the Linlithgow
Gazette pressing for the early completion of the High Street frontage.
Pedal for Scotland event: letters have been sent to the organisers of this
event and to Police Scotland following concern about the disruption to the
town and offering to be involved in the preparations for next year’s event.
Doors Open Day in October: a small team runs this successful event for
West Lothian Council. (The event was hindered by the clash with the Pedal
for Scotland event on the Sunday.)
Scottish Civic Trust: we’ve liaised with Scottish Civic Trust regarding its
conference, held once again in Linlithgow Burgh Halls. We will be rep-
resented at the event and will be selling our publications and merchandise.
Public Art: we were represented at the council’s recent seminar on public
art held in Livingston. The Trust is working with the Linlithgow Town
Centre Business Improvement District to establish a public art strategy.
Website: the Trust’s website has been updated and training has been
conducted to assist members to update its content.
Planning matters: see David Timperley’s article on page 10.
Newsletter delivery: two members have devised a hand delivery system for the newsletter, saving the Trust £300 per annum.
November 2016 Page 3
Recent front page coverage in the Linlithgow Gazette of issues raised by Linlithgow Civic Trust.
Town Management Group: along with councillors and representatives of
other town groups, we attend crack-of-dawn meetings to discuss, for
example:
o Steps behind County Buildings: following on from a site meeting with
ourselves, Provost Tom Kerr and council officials, we are hoping
that improvements will be made to these steps
o Heritage street lamps: again, we are involved with the changes to the
lamp posts along Station Road and Strawberry Bank
o Monitoring progress with the raising of the stone walls along Royal
Terrace and the platform alterations at Station Road, both of which
are part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme.
Burgh Beautiful: to find out about Burgh Beautiful’s achievements, see the
articles on pages 6 and 12 of this newsletter.
Advent Fair: we are making preparations for the Civic Trust (and Burgh Beautiful) to be actively represented at this annual event in the Burgh Halls.
Help Needed with Distribution of Newsletter Allan Robertson We are looking at setting up a system for hand distribution of local copies of the
Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter. The saving in postage each year is in the
order of £300, so it’s well worth doing. We have created a number of
distribution zones around Linlithgow. Each zone involves the delivery to up to a
dozen or so addresses in a particular area, all within easy walking distance. We
are looking for a number of willing volunteers who would be happy to deliver
the newsletters to one or more zones. The Newsletters are published generally
every 3 or 4 months so it is not too onerous a task. If you are willing to assist
then please get in touch with Allan Robertson at [email protected].
Page 4 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
The Way Forward and the Proposed Change to
Charitable Status (SCIO) Chris Long, Chairman With a huge amount of work from Executive Committee members and our
patient advisors, progress continues to be made. My thanks are due to everyone
who attended and participated in the Members’ Evening on Wednesday 17th
August 2016 at the Low Port Centre. A show of hands indicated approval for
the Executive Committee to develop the proposal. A sub group was formed to work on the proposed application for charitable
status to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). The members of
the sub group working on the new constitution comprised Ron Smith (former
chair of both LCT and BB); Jean Long (secretary of BB); David Timperley (LCT
committee); Marilyne McLaren (LCT committee); and chaired by Chris Long
(chair of LCT and a BB member). Advice has also been sought from Gavin
Stewart and Euan MacLean (both LCT and BB members) who have knowledge
and experience of charity status. The draft constitution is available now on the Trust’s website – see:
http://www.lct.org.uk/lin/images/docs/Draft_Constitution_of_Linlithgow_Town_
Trust_-_3_Nov_2016.pdf Should you not be able to access this document online then please contact me
and I will see that you receive a paper copy. The constitution is a high-level
document which sets the governance of the trust. The work currently
performed by Linlithgow Civic Trust and by Burgh Beautiful will be carried out
by committees responsible to a board of trustees. You are invited to a members’ information
meeting to be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday
30 November 2016 at the Canal Tearoom,
Manse Road Basin, Linlithgow, EH49 6AJ. The format is informal, no PowerPoint presentation,
no wine or nibbles! Members of the Executive
Committee will be present as well as our advisors
Gavin Stewart and Euan MacLean. This is the
opportunity to raise any issues you might have. It would be helpful if you could contact me by email
or phone (details at the back of the newsletter) by
Wednesday 23 November 2016 if you are able
November 2016 Page 5 to attend and to give me an idea of the issue(s) you wish to be raised. This will
enable the appropriate preparations to be put into place.
Events Programme Chris Long, Acting Programme Co-ordinator Forthcoming Events Wednesday 30 November 2016 - Members’ Information Meeting
A Members’ Information Meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 30
November 2016 at the Canal Tearoom, Manse Road Basin, Linlithgow EH49 6AJ.
This is the opportunity to raise any issues you might have regarding the new
constitution and the way forward for Linlithgow Civic Trust. Tuesday 7 February 2017 - Civic Trust Lecture – Adam Room,
Cross House at 7.45 pm
Dorothy Hoskins, Technical Outreach & Education Manager, Historic
Environment Scotland is our guest speaker. The subject will be the 'The Engine
Shed, Stirling: a place to explore your built project.’ The project is nearing
completion at Stirling. Wednesday 9 June 2017 - Perambulation of Linlithgow Marches
The annual perambulation of Linlithgow's old parliamentary boundary takes place
on the Wednesday before Linlithgow Marches each year. It will be on 9 June in
2017, starting at St Ninian's Craigmailen Church at 7pm. For more details, see
the leaflet available in the Burgh Halls, public library, etc. Other planned events will be added here when details are available.
If you have any ideas for the Programme, please let Chris Long know.
Recent Events Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 September - Doors Open Days
The Trust organised another successful programme of Doors Open Days
throughout West Lothian. Wednesday 17 August - Times Past, Present and Future
Members enjoyed a short "Times Past" talk by Sybil Cavanagh, the retiring Local
History Librarian, covering her views on missing coverage of local history in and
around Linlithgow. This was followed by wine and nibbles ("Times Present").
The remainder of the evening looked at “Times Future” and consideration was
given to how the Trust can best meet the future. Members generally supported
the proposal that Linlithgow Civic Trust and Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow should
be re-constituted as a SCIO, an incorporated body with charitable status.
Page 6 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Burgh Beautiful Receives ‘Outstanding’ Award Averil Stewart
For the past fifty years, Keep Scotland
Beautiful and its predecessors have
been campaigning for biodiversity and
environmental responsibility while
encouraging communities to
participate in a whole range of
colourful and creative activities to
enhance villages and towns. Burgh
Beautiful Linlithgow has won a number
of awards over the years. This year it
submitted three very creative beds
with strong messages under the ‘It’s
Your Neighbourhood’ category,
resulting in an ‘Outstanding’ top
award. I had the privilege of
representing Burgh Beautiful and our
collaborators at the awards
presentation and conference in Stirling
on 26 October. Congratulations are
due to several groups. At the West Port, the previously
managed West Lothian Council bed
was taken on by the Rotary Club of
Linlithgow Grange. Its Chairman’s
chosen charity in 2016 was Scottish
Disability Sport, hence its logo
became the focus. Not only did the
Rotary Club sponsor this bed with
its colourful plantings of blues and
white, but they took on its care: a
stunningly simple display effectively
conveying a message. The story was more complicated at the serpentine bed where several
organisations came together. This exciting project was funded by the River
Forth Fisheries Trust (RFFT) and River Avon Federation (RAF), with support
from the Linlithgow Angling Club (LAC) and the Forth Area Federation of
Anglers (FAFA). The concept and care of this bed was considerable, as was the
Linlithgow Grange Rotary Club’s flower bed
promoting Scottish Disability Sport.
November 2016 Page 7 interest shown by many.
Theirs was a message not
only in words but also in a
‘river of flowers’, even with
a white flowered ‘weir’ at
the serpentine steps. Their
story boards describe how,
over past decades, local
rivers had become heavily
polluted and discoloured by
the many mills and industry
along their banks. Since
then, the efforts of these
organisations and many
volunteers have greatly helped to clean up the rivers, and control invasive
species such as Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam. They also assess the
quality of the water through monitoring fish populations and wildlife surveys.
Although wildlife such as sea trout, otters and kingfishers have returned, there is
a lot work still to be done. The information panels about the bed can still be
seen on the Trust’s website at: http://lct.org.uk/lin/8-burgh-beautiful/32-aileentest. Finally, the Transition
Linlithgow bed at the
Vennel focussed on Local
Seasonal Foods with the
strap line ‘Healthy Eating -
Healthy Planet’. Segments
on the message board
covering fruits, fish,
vegetables, meat and dairy
produce were all reflected
in the planting - a silver fish
in a sea of blue; red
begonias for meat; white
flowers spilling from a milk pail, and a recycled wire chicken on a hay bale,
complete with stone egg: all gave much of interest and food for thought. The
central and largest section focussed on vegetables which are so important for a
healthy diet, as well as helping to sustain the planet. As the season progressed,
vegetables and bunches of the prolific parsley were offered to passers-by.
School classes visited the bed, so it was not only edible but also educational.
Another great team effort that captured public imagination!
The ‘River of Flowers’ floral display by RFFT, RAF, LAC
and FAFA (see text for full names).
Transition Linlithgow’s bed: ‘Healthy Eating – Healthy Planet’.
Page 8 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
A Quarter Century of Local History Sybil Cavanagh, West Lothian Local History Librarian, 1990-2016 I’ve recently retired after just over a quarter of a century in charge of the West
Lothian Local History Library. You might think that twenty-six years is an
unconscionable time to spend on the history of one small county, but I can
honestly say that I’ve only scratched the surface of the subject. And there are
large gaps, not just in my knowledge, but in the written history of West Lothian.
Even Linlithgow, one of Scotland’s ancient burghs, has been relatively under-
studied, with no comprehensive history of the burgh. Perhaps something similar
to the Bathgate Book could be done for Linlithgow – list the topics, recruit
volunteers, allocate topics. It’s a way of covering a large spread of subjects and
timescale, though it has its pitfalls! New Work
On the other hand, what
has pleased me most in
the last twenty-six years
is the increased interest
in local history, the
number of new
publications on the
subject, and new websites
such as ScotlandsPlaces,
Canmore, and the
excellent Scottish Shale
website. But I’d like to
highlight a few obvious
gaps in the published
history of Linlithgow that
might inspire you to put pen to paper, or at least put your spectacles to some
archives, and see what you can bring to light. Gaps
First, anything before about 1700. The West Lothian Archaeological Forum has
done wonderful work with their kite photography in uncovering archaeological
sites, but a tremendous amount of work remains to be done. I gather that there
have been exciting recent discoveries about the Palace. If you didn’t manage to
get tickets to Professor Richard’s Oram’s talk a few months ago, you’ll have a
second chance when he speaks to the West Lothian History and Amenity
Society in April next year. Apparently, according to him, we can ‘throw out
what we thought we knew about the palace’!
Shoemaking was once a staple trade in Linlithgow but relatively little research has been undertaken into the
subject.
November 2016 Page 9 Post 1700, much more work has been done, partly of course because more
records survive. What are needed now are studies based on primary sources –
for example, the registers of sasines (property transactions); kirk session
records, which tell us a great deal not just about church organisation and
discipline, but about how ordinary people lived; heritors’ records for the built
fabric of churches, manses and schools; and poor relief records for a window on
the lives of the poor. These have been little studied, but could tell us a huge
amount. The court and royal aspects of
Linlithgow’s history are reasonably
well covered, but what about the
social and industrial history of the
burgh? For example, there is no
detailed study of shoemaking in
the town: Anne Baillie made a
start by studying the 1841 census
and Alex Adamson continued the
work in the 1851 census. But so
many questions remain
unanswered. Was the skill really
introduced by Cromwell’s troops? What about the 18th century industry?
When and how did the town gain the army contract? Who was the contract
actually awarded to? How did the loss of the contract in 1885 affect the town?
Were the cattle slaughtered here, or were the skins imported?
A great deal of work
remains to be done, and
there is scope for the
dedicated amateur
historian, using records
readily available in
Linlithgow, Edinburgh
and online, to produce
valuable original
research on the burgh.
Above: Photograph and 1856 Ordnance Survey map showing the Rivaldsgreen Tan Works where the ‘Barratt’ houses at Barkhill Road are now situated.
Page 10 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Planning Report David Timperley, Linlithgow Civic Trust’s Planning Spokesman Planning Applications
The Civic Trust has commented on the following applications since the last
newsletter: Victoria Hall, High Street, Linlithgow – Shop units and flats
The proposal for this prominent site in the High Street is for a significant retail
development on the ground floor and for 16 flats on four floors above. The top
floor comprises a glass faced penthouse type development set back from the
High Street frontage. The Civic Trust registered an objection on the following
grounds:
That Linlithgow and Linlithgow Bridge are described in the current Local
Plan as having reached the limit of their infrastructure (particularly education
capacity) and therefore are areas of development restraint until, at least,
additional primary and secondary school places are provided.
The High Street top floor elevation is unacceptable because of the height and
glass wall construction of this floor which would be visually out of keeping
with the Conservation status of the High Street.
The glass wall construction of the residences on the 4th floor would
overlook existing residential premises opposite to the detriment of their
privacy.
The facia materials on the rear elevation are out of keeping with the other
buildings in the Conservation Area in that they comprise brick, timber, metal
cladding and aluminium doors and windows.
November 2016 Page 11 Access for commercial vehicles servicing the site, particularly the large retail
area, which is of small supermarket size, is unacceptable in that it would
cause significant congestion in the High Street and would conflict with the
safe operation of the bus stop, taxi rank and pelican crossing all to the
detriment of road safety.
The proposals are an overdevelopment of the site in terms of the size of the
retail floor area and number of residential units.
No vehicular parking has been provided for the residential development and,
despite good access to public transport and the provision of cycle storage,
the inevitable parking demand would have no alternative but to compete
with the current demand for on street parking. The Community Council echoed these reasons in their objections but West
Lothian Council’s Development Management Committee approved the
application on 26 October in accordance with the officers’ recommendation. Wilcoxholm Farm, Edinburgh Road, Linlithgow – Residential Development This application takes the form of a ‘Proposal of Application Notice’ which in
effect is a pre-consultation. The proposals are for the residential development of
a considerable area of agricultural land between Edinburgh Road and the
Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line, on both sides of the Union Canal between
Maidlands and Wilcoxholm Farm. The development of most of this area is
included in the Linlithgow Planning Forum’s ‘Plan for the Future’ of Linlithgow, as
supported by Linlithgow Civic Trust, but with the overriding condition that the
developer should make a substantial contribution to the upgrading of the town’s
infrastructure, mainly transport provisions. SUPPORT CIVIC TRUST & BURGH BEAUTIFUL STALLS AT THE
ADVENT FAIR, SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER, BURGH HALLS Items on sale will include:
Civic Trust publications about Linlithgow (see
back page of Newsletter)
Our celebrated Linlithgow heritage teatowel
Raffle tickets for Burgh Beautiful with the usual
great prizes! (also at stall at The Cross)
Posies, lavender wands, gift tags and small
wreaths produced by Burgh Beautiful volunteers
using ‘home-grown’ dried flowers
Holly balls (as available at stall at The Cross) A lavender wand.
Page 12 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Burgh Beautiful – News from the Potting Shed! Shona Robertson As a relatively new volunteer to Burgh Beautiful I have been totally amazed at
the amount of work which takes place behind the scenes to keep our town
looking good. The summer was a particularly busy time tending to all the
blooms in the hanging baskets, planters and flower beds. The efforts of the
group have not gone unnoticed by the local residents who will often stop and
provide words of encouragement to the volunteers.
Eye-catching barrels on Blackness Road. Summer planter at the Burgh Halls. This autumn, Linlithgow’s Burgh Beautiful was delighted to learn that an
“outstanding” award was achieved in the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ competition
of Keep Scotland Beautiful, as reported on pages 6 and 7 of this newsletter.
The landscaping work at Low Port Primary
School, financed by the Town Management
Group, was completed just in time for the
start of the new term and is looking good.
More informal landscaping work was also
completed over the summer period at
Learmonth Gardens with the Council
upgrading the rear of the area and Burgh
Beautiful taking over all the flower beds.
There has been the recent addition of a
number of new planters around the town,
now all been planted up for the
winter/spring period.
Left: Overflowing with flowers: barrels and hanging baskets at the Star and Garter.
November 2016 Page 13
Burgh Beautiful’s planting at Learmonth Gardens. If you want to sponsor one of these flower beds, please contact us at [email protected]. Various improvements have been made at our Clarendon base. Our garden shed
has had a facelift with a new coat of paint. We were also fortunate to receive a
generous donation of a greenhouse which had to be dismantled and transported
to our base. The site is being prepared for its erection. Many photographs have been taken to capture scenes from the various work
parties and floral displays throughout the seasons. Were you able to identify the
locations in the recent photographic competition within the October issue of the
Black Bitch magazine? Our efforts have also received good recent coverage in
the Linlithgow Gazette in addition to our own website and Facebook page. You may be forgiven if you were to think that the Burgh Beautiful activities
would slow down over autumn and winter… absolutely not! The enthusiasm
continues as the final details for the delivery and distribution of the winter plants
are coordinated. Various work parties assist in the emptying and replanting of
the hanging baskets, while volunteers tend to their own planters or flower beds
ensuring their clearance and preparation for the winter planting schedule. This summer, a variety of flowers and grasses were grown from seed at the
Clarendon base. These were very successful and were cut for drying. Various
workshops have been arranged for volunteers to create a selection of posies,
Page 14 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Some of the BB folk who helped plant up winter hanging baskets one wet October Saturday. lavender wands, gift tags and small wreaths which are to be sold at the Advent
fayre. This will be our next major fund raising event which we hope you will
come along to support on Saturday 26 November. As part of this, we will, as
usual, be making up some of our traditional large holly balls at £25 each – if you
would like one, please contact us as soon as possible at [email protected]. Then there was Neil Barnes who
along with his intrepid friends took
on the triple peaks challenge, Ben
Nevis, Braeriach and Ben Macdui,
and it completed it in under 24
hours. They earned, through
sponsorship, £228.77 for Burgh
Beautiful and a similar sum for St
Peter’s Church new building fund.
Many thanks to Neil. While the enthusiasm never seems to end, it is important to remember that the
achievements outlined above are only possible through the highly valued support
of volunteers, sponsors and donors. While we have been delighted with the
response we have received from our public appeals, we would welcome further
volunteers. Don’t worry if you feel you lack gardening skills, you will have other
Triple Peaks conquered!
November 2016 Page 15 skills which could be used. If you are interested in supporting Burgh Beautiful,
please email: [email protected]. It has been two years since Burgh Beautiful submitted a ‘Beautiful Scotland’ entry
for the whole town; given the ongoing high level of public support through
sponsorships, donations and volunteering, we are beginning to come to the
conclusion that a 2017 entry is well worth considering.
Website and Membership Reports John Aitken, Webmaster and Membership Secretary Membership
Thanks to all those who have renewed their Trust membership. A few
subscriptions are still due and those members will find a reminder enclosed. If
the change to a SCIO goes ahead as planned, all full members of Linlithgow Civic
Trust will automatically become members of the new organisation. Website
Allan Robertson has kindly taken over from me as Webmaster. The new Trust
website is working well and is designed so that convenors and others can edit
their own content. Visit lct.org.uk/lin/ regularly to get the latest updates.
Executive Committee of Linlithgow Civic Trust Chairman Chris Long [email protected] 01506 843461
Vice Chairman
DOD Co-ordinator
John McGregor [email protected] 01506 670229
Hon Secretary Shona Reid [email protected] 01506 845348
Hon Treasurer Mike Vickers [email protected] 01506 671307
Burgh Beautiful Chris Gunstone [email protected] 01506 842582
Newsletter Ron Smith [email protected] 01506 670758
Membership
also Website
John Aitken [email protected] 01506 848258
Perambulation Allan Robertson [email protected] 07730 358543
Planning David Timperley [email protected] 01506 845623
Publications Chris Long [email protected] 01506 843461
Programme
Co-ordinator
Vacant
Marilyne MacLaren marilynemaclaren@
btinternet.com
01506 845275
Andrew Taylor [email protected] 01506 201463 If you would like to join the Executive Committee, please contact the chairman.
Page 16 Linlithgow Civic Trust Newsletter
Publications from Linlithgow Civic Trust
Contact: Jean or Chris Long, Linlithgow Civic Trust, 14 Friars Way, Linlithgow, EH49 6AX
Email: [email protected]
Linlithgow - Architecture and History of a Scottish
Royal Burgh Retail price: £8.00 Linlithgow Civic Trust has published a generously illustrated 64-page book,
based on the Architectural and Historical Guide first published by the Trust in
1974, but revised and greatly expanded.
The book contains around 170 photographs, plans and other illustrations,
mostly in colour and never previously published, giving a comprehensive
account of the architecture and history of Linlithgow. It has been produced to
a highly professional standard, with full annotations to each photograph, an
original historical overview and an index.
Walks around Linlithgow Retail price: £7.00 This popular book by local rambler John Davidson covers 27 walks, each of
which has colour illustrations and an Ordnance Survey based map
Linlithgow Street Plan Retail price: £2.00 Ronald P A Smith's excellent street plan of Linlithgow is now available from
Linlithgow Civic Trust.
Street Names of Linlithgow and Linlithgow Bridge
Retail price: £2.00 A fascinating and entertaining account of the origins of Linlithgow’s street
names by local historian Bruce Jamieson.
Teatowel Retail price: £6.00
The quality tea towel is illustrated with key images of Linlithgow. This makes
a good memento or a gift to anyone with a connection with the town.
No part of this Newsletter may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from Linlithgow
Civic Trust. Opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the authors of the articles that it contains, and are not necessarily those of Linlithgow Civic Trust. Copyright © 2016 – Linlithgow Civic Trust
Linlithgow Civic Trust Web: lct.org.uk Email: [email protected]
