History of Bo'ness

Long before Bo'ness was established on the point, the medieval village of Kinneil was the main centre of population. It was clustered round Kinneil House one of the homes of the Hamilton family. The House itself began life as a large 15th century fortified tower house. In the mid-16th century a 'palace' was built next to the tower to provide more elegant living quarters for the family. This building contains several murals on religious subjects thought to be amongst the finest surviving examples in Scotland.

 

Finally, in the late 17th century, under the influence of the Duchess Anne Hamilton, two pavilions were created one of which linked the old tower to the 'palace'. In the late 18th century, Dr John Roebuck of Carron, stayed in the house and it was he who brought the engineer James Watt to Kinneil where he worked on his improved steam engine in the little workshop at the back of the house. Behind Kinneil House on the other side of the Gil Burn is the site of the village of Kinneil which was abandoned in the late 17th century. The ruins of the 12th century church survive with only the west gable standing. The Roman fortlet of Kinneil was identified and excavated in the 1980s to the west of the house.

 

From the late 1500s at least, ships were landing goods at the Ness which is the place where the later harbour stood. During the 1600s the population grew steadily as the village of Kinneil declined in size and importance and Bo'ness soon became the major centre. The Sea Box Society dates from 1634. It involved captains putting a percentage of their earnings into a chest for disbursement to those of their number who lost ships, or for other charitable works. In the mid-18th century Bo'ness was Scotland's third most important port until the rise of Grangemouth. At the end of the 18th century the town had 25 ships. The west pier was probably built around 1700 with the east added in 1733. Clustered around the old west pier are several buildings with links to the town's mercantile history. In Scotland's Close there is the 'tobacco warehouse' built in 1772 and nearby a 5 storey granary building, now converted into flats, of slightly later date used to store grain from the import trade. There are several other buildings of note in the vacinity like the Tolbooth, the circular Hippodrome Theatre designed by Matthew Steele in 1911 and the 17th century Dymock's Buildings recently restored. The old Star Cinema in Corbiehall was originally the Parish Church built in 1638 but much altered in later reconstructions. Behind it lies the old graveyard with many fascinating stones bearing the trade marks of sailors and merchants. 

 

As well as shipping, the Bo'ness area boasted a number of industries. The whole of the Kinneil, Bo'ness and Carriden area is completely undermined with hundreds of coal shafts and coal was being removed for at least 7 centuries. The great boom came with the industrial revolution in the 18th century and continued right up to the mid 20th. Kinneil colliery in the 1960s was thought to be the most advanced in the land but even it closed in the 1980s. Another early industry, preserved in the names Grangepans and Panbrae was saltmaking. At its height there were 16 pans employing 30 salters. The salt was a main source of income for the town with much of the product being exported. The last pan ceased work in 1890. There were several shipbuilders in Bo'ness and in the late 1700s whaling started and at one stage there were at least 7 whaling ships sailing from the harbour. In the 19th century the town became an importer of pit props with vast quantities of Scandinavian timber imported for this purpose and giant stacks of props lined the foreshore from Carriden to Kinneil.
 

As well as these industries there were several potteries and iron foundries one of which, Ballantynes, is the last surviving foundry in Falkirk district. Industrial decline was deeply damaging to the Bo'ness area but recently there have been promising signs of a revival in fortune with the Railway Museum, Birkhill Claymine and planned waterfront developments offering new hope for the future.

Content provided by Ian Scott ©