West Lothian
West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...
lying between
Linlithgow
Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...
and
Bridgend
Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...
Kingscavil had historically been under the direct control of the Scottish Crown. During King
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
's resettlement plans, Kingscavil was granted to Sir James Douglas which was witnessed by
Edward Bruce
Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Norman French: ; ; Modern Scottish Gaelic: or ; 1280 – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish cro ...
as part of "omnes terras de Kincauill" as well as the village of
East Calder
East Calder is a village located in West Lothian, Scotland, about a mile east of Mid Calder and a mile west of Wilkieston. It forms part of 'the Calders (together with Mid and West Calder), three small neighbouring communities situated wes ...
.
Kingscavil had a quarry located in it. Sandstone quarried from Kingscavil was used to construct
Linlithgow Palace
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...
. Kingscavil later became a hub for shale oil extraction, with the village being built up with workers going to live there. Kingscavil Church was also constructed in 1902 by the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
in
English Gothic
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...
style to serve the village. However, following a collapse in the shale oil industry in the 1930s, the majority of the new village was demolished. This came after an inquiry into conditions in the village was set up by the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
, the first to have been held under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1930. The inquiry was commissioned following West Lothian County Council receiving reports from their inspectors about the sanitary conditions in the new housing. The inquiry found in 1937 that the housing was inadequate and should be demolished with the residents being re-homed in nearby Bridgend.
Sport
A
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...