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Roman history[edit]
Right-hand panel of the Bridgeness Slab showing a suovetaurilia.
Bo'ness has important historical links to the Roman period and marks the eastern extent of the Antonine Wall (at Carriden in the north-east of Bo'ness) which stretched from Bo'ness to Old Kilpatrick on the west coast of Scotland. 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 to the west of Bo'ness.
Roman artefacts, 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 artefacts have been uncovered over the years by the local farming community, including the Bridgeness Slab with many of them now on display in the National Museum of Scotland or at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. A replica was unveiled by Bo'ness Community Council and Falkirk Council on 7 September 2012 in Kinningars Park. A video about its history and manufacture is available online. Other Roman sites have been identified at Muirhouses (known locally as 'The Murrays') and Kinglass on the south-east side of the town.
Commerce and industrial[edit]
Bo'ness Town Centre, looking towards Hope St
The town was a recognised port from the 16th century. Coal was shipped from Bo'ness to supply Edinburgh Castle in 1548. A harbour was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1707. The harbour, built in stages in the 18th century, was extended and complemented by a dry dock in 1881 (works designed by civil engineers 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 though these are on hold indefinitely. Shipowning and maritime businesses in the town is evidenced by the ownership of Kinneil, a ship owned by the Lovart Company of Bo’ness, that later sank in a collision off Denmark. Bo'ness was granted the right of exports and customs dues in 1672 and the office was transferred from Blackness. A large Customs House for the harbour was completed in 1880 on Union Street and still stands today as private dwellings.
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 activity. 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.
Kinneil Colliery was a large coal mine on the western edge of the town, that at its peak employed over 1,200 people. Production at the mine began in the late 19th century, expanded significantly after 1951 and was eventually merged with the Valleyfield Colliery via a tunnel underneath the Forth, connecting the two collieries. The mine closed in 1982 due to ‘severe geological conditions’. Today the above ground site is a nature reserve open to the public.
A map of Borrowstounness from 1945
When the town's commissioners bought the land for the Bo'ness Town Hall and park in the 1890s, the town's prosperity was on the rise. By its completion, the story was not so encouraging. Plans for the town hall and original library were approved however by the Dean of Guild Court on 14 October 1902. The building was officially opened on 14 September 1904. As part of the ceremony, a memorial stone was laid beneath which was placed a glass jar containing a copy of The Scotsman, The Glasgow Herald, Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgow Gazette, a list of councillors and a copy of the council minutes.
In the twentieth century Bo'ness was one of several Scottish ports involved in the shipbreaking industry. The shipbreaking yard was established by the Forth Ship Breaking Company (1902–20), which was then taken over by P&W Maclellan who continued operating until about 1970. On a high spring tide the ship destined to be broken up would be manoeuvred to the far (north) side of the river and then steamed across with all speed to drive her as far as possible up the beach. A fo’c’stle crew would lower the ship's anchors as soon as she came to rest to stop her sliding back into the river. The bows would come almost up to Bridgeness Road. Among many ships scrapped at the yard were the ocean liners Belgenland and Metagama, cargo ship Empire Advocate, and warships HMS Lagos, Liverpool, Newark, Petard, Ramsey, Scorpion and Wheatland.
The Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgow Gazette was a newspaper published in the town. It is now The Linlithgow Journal and Gazette. The newspaper officers were at 37–43 North Street which was built in 1884 and today is a category B listed building in the town.
