Bathgate is a parish in the west of Linlithgowshire. It is bounded by Lanarkshire and by the parishes of Torphichen, Linlithgow, Ecclesmachan, Livingston, and Whitburn. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Armadale, Bathgate, Bathville Row, Cappers, Durhamtown, Little Boghead
Balbardie, Boghead
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
Previous to the Reformation the church belonged to the Abbey of Newbattle. A church built in 1596 was demolished in 1882, on erection of the present edifice.
Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Armadale. Disjoined from Bathgate and erected into a parish quoad sacra by decree of Court of Teinds, 15 March 1886.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Bathgate (QO)
Armadale (QS)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1672-1854 | Bathgate | 662 | OPR |
| 1855-1866 | Bathgate | 662 | RD |
| 1867-1971 | Bathgate | 662-1 | RD |
| 1867-1971 | Armadale | 662-2 | RD |
| 1972-1974 | Armadale | 707 | RD |
| 1972-2002 | Bathgate | 705 | RD |
| 2003-2008 | Bathgate, West Lothian | 774 | RD |
| 2009 | West Lothian, Bathgate | 774 | RD |
| 2026 | (Bathgate) West Lothian Council; Bathgate Community Council Seafield Community Council | ||
| 2026 | (Armadale) West Lothian Council; Armadale Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Brown, Fleming, Marshall, Russell, Smith, Stewart, Thomson, Walker, Wilson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Walter Jardine.
"At present there are 2309 inhabitants; 984 males, and 1325 females. About 1400 people reside in the village of Bathgate, and 900 in the country part of the parish; in the former are 327 married couples, and 113 unmarried persons who keep house; and in the latter are 122 married couples. Of the 2309 inhabitants, 1989 attend the Established Church; about 320 are Seceders; and 3 are of the Episcopal persuasion.
In the parish are 4 surgeons, 3 writers, 7 merchants or shopkeepers, 255 mechanics of whom 50 are apprentices, 55 farmers, in each of whose families there are, at an average, 9 or 10 persons, of whom 3 are generally hired servants.
In the village of Bathgate are about 469 houses, or room, occupied by separate families, whereof 29 are uninhabited."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 1, p. 348
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 2, Section I, p. 149
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
