Bo'ness
Encyclopedia
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands
of Scotland
. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth
within the Falkirk council area
, 16.9 miles (27.2 km) north-west of Edinburgh
and 6.7 miles (10.8 km) east of Falkirk
. At the 2001 census
, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961 but according to a 2008 estimate this has since risen to 14,490. Before 1975 the town was in the former county
of West Lothian
.
Bo'ness was formerly a centre of heavy industry, coal mining and had a major port. However, the town is now primarily a commuter town
.
Bo'ness has important historical links to the Roman
period and marks the eastern extent of the Antonine Wall
which stretched from Bo'ness to Old Kilpatrick
on the west coast of Scotland. Roman artifacts, some with inscriptions, have been found in the eastern part of the town at Carriden. A Roman fort called Veluniate, long since lost to history, once stood on the site now occupied by the grounds of Carriden House
. Indeed, it is said that stones from the fort were used in the building of the mansion
house. Several artifacts have been uncovered over the years by the local farming community, with many of them now on display in the Museum of Edinburgh
. Other Roman sites have been identified at Muirhouses (known locally as "The Murrays") and Kinglass on the south-east side of the town. Kinneil, in the western part of Bo'ness, was mentioned by Bede
, who wrote that it was named Pennfahel ("Wall's end") in Pictish
and Penneltun in Old English
. It was also Pengwawl in old Welsh. In the grounds of Kinneil House
is the ruin of the small house where James Watt worked on his steam engine. The Antonine Wall was named as an extension to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2007. A Roman fortlet can still be seen at Kinneil Estate.
The town was a recognised port from the 16th century; a harbour was authorised by an Act of Parliament
in 1707. The harbour, constructed progressively during the 18th century, was extended and complemented by a dry dock in 1881 (works designed by civil engineer
s Thomas Meik
and Patrick Meik
). The commercial port (heavily used for the transport of coal and pit props) eventually closed in 1959, badly affected by silting and the gradual downturn of the Scottish coal mining industry. Plans currently exist for the regeneration of the docks area including reopening the port as a marina
.
Bo'ness was a site for coal mining
from medieval times. Clay mining was carried out on a smaller scale. The shore was the site of industrial salt making
, evaporating seawater
over coal fires. The ruins of several fisheries (fish storage houses) along the shoreline evidences long gone commercial fishing activitiy. The town was also home to several sizable potteries
, one product being the black "wally dugs" which sat in pairs over many fireplaces. Metalworking
is still carried out, and examples of the Bo'ness Iron Company's work are to be found in many places.
Bo'ness is now primarily a commuter town, with many of its residents travelling to work in Edinburgh
, Glasgow
or Falkirk
. One of the main local sources of employment is the Ineos
petrochemical facility (formerly BP) located in nearby Grangemouth
.
Present-day attractions in the town include the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway and the Birkhill Fireclay Mine. Kinneil House, built by the powerful Hamilton
family in the 15th century, lies on the western edge of the town. In the grounds are a cottage where James Watt worked on his experimental steam engine
and the steam cylinder of a Newcomen engine. The remains of an engine house are located in Kinningars Park, off Harbour Road.
Bo'ness has a single secondary school
, Bo'ness Academy, and five primary schools: Kinneil, Deanburn, Bo'ness Public School, St Mary's, and the Grange School. There are a number of churches, including Bo'ness Old Kirk, Carriden, St Andrew's Parish Church, Craigmailen United Free Church, St. Catharine's Episcopal Church, Bo'ness Apostolic Church, Bo'ness Baptist Church, The Bo'ness Salvation Army and St. Mary of the Assumption RC. On 25 October 2011 it was announced that the Rev Albert Bogle
, minister at the town's St Andrew's Church, would be nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
for 2012.
As of 2011, consideration is being given to the possible renovation of the town's harbour.
Bo'ness is also home to the recently refurbished 'Hippodrome', which is the oldest picture house in Scotland. The building, along with many other buildings in Bo'ness, was designed by Matthew Steele, a local resident and architect. The Hippodrome was built in 1912.
Visitors to Bo'ness can also enjoy a bite to eat at the famous Corvi's cafe, an old-style family-run Italian cafe. Historically, the cafe is related to the Coronation Cafe in the East End of Glasgow.
club Bo'ness United
, and also to Bo'ness United Ladies and Bo'ness United Under 16s. Bo'ness Academy has a rugby team. In the 2008/2009 season they will be in partnership with Grangemouth
rugby club, so they are eligible for competitions and cups. Bo'ness Cycling Club was reformed in 2010 as Velo Sport Bo'ness. Jim Smellie was a lesser-known local legend, being an 11 times Scottish Cycling Champion, and some of the trophies collected over the years can be viewed at Kinneil House Museum
.
Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
within the Falkirk council area
Falkirk (council area)
Falkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...
, 16.9 miles (27.2 km) north-west of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and 6.7 miles (10.8 km) east of Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
. At the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961 but according to a 2008 estimate this has since risen to 14,490. Before 1975 the town was in the former county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
of West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
.
Bo'ness was formerly a centre of heavy industry, coal mining and had a major port. However, the town is now primarily a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
.
History
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
period and marks the eastern extent of the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
which stretched from Bo'ness to Old Kilpatrick
Old Kilpatrick
Old Kilpatrick is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.The village is on the north bank of the River Clyde immediately to the north of the Forth and Clyde Canal, three miles from Clydebank on the road to Dumbarton. The Great Western Road runs through Old Kilpatrick, and the next village to...
on the west coast of Scotland. Roman artifacts, some with inscriptions, have been found in the eastern part of the town at Carriden. A Roman fort called Veluniate, long since lost to history, once stood on the site now occupied by the grounds of Carriden House
Carriden House
Carriden House is a mansion in the parish of Bo'ness and Carriden, in the Falkirk council area, east central Scotland. It is located east of Bo'ness, and north-east of Linlithgow, in the former county of West Lothian. The earliest part of the house is an early 17th-century tower house, which was...
. Indeed, it is said that stones from the fort were used in the building of the mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
house. Several artifacts have been uncovered over the years by the local farming community, with many of them now on display in the Museum of Edinburgh
Museum of Edinburgh
The Museum of Edinburgh is a museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, depicting the town's origins, history and legends. Situated in the late 16th-century Huntly House on the Royal Mile, it is maintained by Edinburgh City Council.-External links:*...
. Other Roman sites have been identified at Muirhouses (known locally as "The Murrays") and Kinglass on the south-east side of the town. Kinneil, in the western part of Bo'ness, was mentioned by Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
, who wrote that it was named Pennfahel ("Wall's end") in Pictish
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
and Penneltun in Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
. It was also Pengwawl in old Welsh. In the grounds of Kinneil House
Kinneil House
Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness in east-central Scotland. It was once the principal seat of the Hamilton family in the east of Scotland. The house was saved from demolition in 1936 when 16th-century mural paintings were discovered, and it is now in the care of Historic...
is the ruin of the small house where James Watt worked on his steam engine. The Antonine Wall was named as an extension to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2007. A Roman fortlet can still be seen at Kinneil Estate.
The town was a recognised port from the 16th century; a harbour was authorised by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1707. The harbour, constructed progressively during the 18th century, was extended and complemented by a dry dock in 1881 (works designed by civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
s Thomas Meik
Thomas Meik
Thomas Meik was a British engineer, born in Duddingston, Midlothian. He was particularly associated with ports and railways in Scotland and northern England, and fathered two prominent engineering sons: Patrick Meik and Charles Meik...
and Patrick Meik
Patrick Meik
Patrick Meik was an English engineer and part of a minor engineering dynasty. His father Thomas Meik was also an engineer, as was Patrick's brother Charles Meik.Both boys were born in Crowtree Road, Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland....
). The commercial port (heavily used for the transport of coal and pit props) eventually closed in 1959, badly affected by silting and the gradual downturn of the Scottish coal mining industry. Plans currently exist for the regeneration of the docks area including reopening the port as a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
.
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
from medieval times. Clay mining was carried out on a smaller scale. The shore was the site of industrial salt making
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
, evaporating seawater
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
over coal fires. The ruins of several fisheries (fish storage houses) along the shoreline evidences long gone commercial fishing activitiy. The town was also home to several sizable potteries
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, one product being the black "wally dugs" which sat in pairs over many fireplaces. Metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...
is still carried out, and examples of the Bo'ness Iron Company's work are to be found in many places.
Present
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
or Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
. One of the main local sources of employment is the Ineos
Ineos
INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom...
petrochemical facility (formerly BP) located in nearby Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
.
Present-day attractions in the town include the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway and the Birkhill Fireclay Mine. Kinneil House, built by the powerful Hamilton
James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton
James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton, 6th Lord of Cadzow was a Scottish nobleman, scholar and politician.-Early life:...
family in the 15th century, lies on the western edge of the town. In the grounds are a cottage where James Watt worked on his experimental steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
and the steam cylinder of a Newcomen engine. The remains of an engine house are located in Kinningars Park, off Harbour Road.
Bo'ness has a single secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, Bo'ness Academy, and five primary schools: Kinneil, Deanburn, Bo'ness Public School, St Mary's, and the Grange School. There are a number of churches, including Bo'ness Old Kirk, Carriden, St Andrew's Parish Church, Craigmailen United Free Church, St. Catharine's Episcopal Church, Bo'ness Apostolic Church, Bo'ness Baptist Church, The Bo'ness Salvation Army and St. Mary of the Assumption RC. On 25 October 2011 it was announced that the Rev Albert Bogle
Albert Bogle (Moderator)
Albert Bogle is a minister of the Church of Scotland. On 25 October 2011 he was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2012-2013.-Background:...
, minister at the town's St Andrew's Church, would be nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
for 2012.
As of 2011, consideration is being given to the possible renovation of the town's harbour.
Bo'ness is also home to the recently refurbished 'Hippodrome', which is the oldest picture house in Scotland. The building, along with many other buildings in Bo'ness, was designed by Matthew Steele, a local resident and architect. The Hippodrome was built in 1912.
Visitors to Bo'ness can also enjoy a bite to eat at the famous Corvi's cafe, an old-style family-run Italian cafe. Historically, the cafe is related to the Coronation Cafe in the East End of Glasgow.
Sport
Bo'ness is home to the junior footballScottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the Junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "Junior" refers to the level of football played...
club Bo'ness United
Bo'ness United F.C.
Bo'ness United F.C. are a Scottish junior football club, based in the town of Bo'ness. They are currently members of the Scottish Junior Football Association's East Region Super League....
, and also to Bo'ness United Ladies and Bo'ness United Under 16s. Bo'ness Academy has a rugby team. In the 2008/2009 season they will be in partnership with Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
rugby club, so they are eligible for competitions and cups. Bo'ness Cycling Club was reformed in 2010 as Velo Sport Bo'ness. Jim Smellie was a lesser-known local legend, being an 11 times Scottish Cycling Champion, and some of the trophies collected over the years can be viewed at Kinneil House Museum
Kinneil House
Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness in east-central Scotland. It was once the principal seat of the Hamilton family in the east of Scotland. The house was saved from demolition in 1936 when 16th-century mural paintings were discovered, and it is now in the care of Historic...
.
External links
- Bo'ness Discussion Board
- Bo'ness community site
- Bo'ness web site
- Proposals by ING to transform harbor area
- Website on the historical Kinneil Estate, at the western edge of Bo'ness
- Bo'ness Pottery - The Pottery Industry of Borrowstounness 1766 - 1958
- Bo'ness Undiscovered Scotland - The Ultimaate Online Guide
- Boness Pipe band
- National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE (selection of archive films about Bo’ness)