Mossend village

Parish:

West Calder, Midlothian

Local authority:

West Lothian

Ownership:

Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Co. Ltd.

Opened:

Built c.1870

Closed:

Progressively demolished during 1950's, finally cleared c.1968

Current status of site:

Rough ground and grazing. New houses.

Constructed by Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company to house mining staff working the Polbeth shale pits that supplied Addiewell Chemical Works. Evidence presented to the Royal Commission on Housing Conditions on 25th March 1914 stated:

"There are 140 double-apartment houses. The water is supplied by four stand-pipes. The rental is 2/3 per week, inclusive of rates. There are no coal cellars, wash-houses, or sculleries. Dry privies exist, but are practically public nuisances. The refuse is removed weekly by the Oil Company. The sewage is disposed of in an open channel. There is a contrast in black and white about these houses - the gables are blackened with tar, whilst the fronts and backs of the house are whitewashed."

Comprising of:

Front Street; 58 houses, ten rows lining the west side of the West Calder to Gavieside Road, most containing six two-room homes
Mid Street: 48 houses, four rows on either side of the road, each with six two-room homes
East Street; 30 houses, a line of five rows each with six two-room homes

The population of the village in the 1881 census was 683. Sculleries were fitted to most homes c.1920.

Location map

Detailed maps

Mossend - 25" OS map c.1895, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Mossend - 25" OS map c.1907, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Mossend - 1:2,500 OS map c.1962, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Mossend - Aerial, courtesy National Library of Scotland

Mossend from the south c.1910. See full record LVSAV2018.097

1 - 62 Front St. Mossend, 1965. Courtesy Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monumnets of Scotland.

Still from a movie taken from The Tower, West Calder in 1937 showing chimney pots, the railway, and beyond Mossend.

Recent images

Site of Mossend,

Recent images of Mossend (Post archaeological survey, September 2020)

4th October 2020

29th September 2020.

Official references

MOSSEND "East Street: 12 houses closed. Application for closing orders to be made when houses become vacant. No block completely empty. Front Street: Houses being maintained, one house has been closed because of excessive repairs necessary."

Meeting held at Middleton Hall on 9th September 1958 to review position of house properties etc.

References

It's Scotland's Oil , by Tom McVicar. Reflections on life at Mossend, free rides up the Westwood bing, and instant roast beef.

Additional Resources

Oral history transcript: Mr James Brown
Oral history transcript: Mr Ellis & Mr Ellis