Harthill is a rural village split between North Lanarkshire and West Lothian in Scotland, with most of the village in North Lanarkshire. It is located about halfway between Glasgow, to the west, and Edinburgh, to the east. It lies on the River Almond about west of the small town of Whitburn. The closest major towns are Bathgate, away, and Livingston, away. Major towns within North Lanarkshire, such as Wishaw, Airdrie, Motherwell, Coatbridge and Bellshill are all around to the west. The M8 motorway bypasses the village as does the village's service station.
Overview Harthill grew up as a result of the coal mining industries of North Lanarkshire, and some of the original old miners' homes remain. Originally part of Linlithgowshire, it was eventually split between the ancient counties of West Lothian and Lanarkshire. The village of Greenrigg is adjacent to Harthill on its east side and lies in West Lothian. Some remaining miners' homes, otherwise known as "miners' rows", are also in Greenrigg, along with the houses on Polkemmet Road, Stanley Road and Burns Crescent. The occupants worked in nearby Greenrigg and Polkemmet Collieries, which were in West Lothian and also Blairmuckill, Dewshill, Hassockrig, and others in Lanarkshire.
Polkemmet deep mine coal pit closed during the miners' strike in 1984 due to a mistake by the pickets, who stopped the firemen going in to keep the pumps maintained and the water at bay, which lead to an unrecoverable flooding of the pit.
The only evidence remaining of Polkemmet colliery is a few buildings on the corner of Dixon Terrace (Whitburn) and the building which is now Buildbase. If you stand facing the buildings with your back to the council tip, the windings stood to the right and the canteen was near where the bend on the road now is.
A steam engine, known as a "Pug", which was used to pull the coal wagons, is now on display in the local Polkemmet Country Park, formerly the private estate of the local land-owning Baillie dynasty.
Many other mines were dotted around the surrounding area, including the Benhar pit to the west of Harthill.
Harthill, Eastfield, and Greenrigg form something of a single village entity now, but each retains its independent close-knit identity.
Harthill is located on the A8 and M8 corridors between Scotland's two largest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the village by-passed in 1965 by the first constructed section of the M8 motorway. Scotland's first motorway service station, Heart of Scotland services, was also built at Harthill in 1971 and is located a few hundred yards north of the village. Originally leased and operated by Blue Star to serve M8 traffic, the service station incorporated a landmark motorway footbridge, and a corporate business suite which could be leased for meetings or events – being half-way between Scotland's two major cities. It was never a success as the M8 is basically a 45-mile commuter route.
The service station, known as Harthill Services, was completely redeveloped around 2006 and renamed Heart of Scotland services. A modern replacement footbridge, which was designed by Buro Happold, and cost £5 million, opened in October 2008, and completed the redevelopment. The land is still owned by Transport Scotland and the current site operator is BP.
The number 900 bus links Harthill with Edinburgh and Glasgow every 15 minutes from the Harthill service station. A park and ride system operates here for car and bike owners. Local bus connections terminate here also.
Local industries comprise food distribution and the manufacture of plastics.
Harthill is sometimes considered an isogloss, as it is around here that there is a distinct change from the West Central Scots accent spoken further into Lanarkshire to the East Central Scots spoken in West Lothian. Around to the north-west, Castlecary - also alongside a motorway - is perceived to be the location of a shift between dialects; as well as being on the border between local authorities.
Origins
In 1767 the 'Turnpike' system was first established in Scotland with the main route between Edinburgh and Glasgow passing through Harthill. By 1780 'The Edinburgh to Glasgow Flyer' stagecoach would pass through Harthill and Whitburn up to 20 times a day. The 'Halfway House' which is now a private dwelling at Polkemmet Country park and Golf Course (on the B7066 (A8)) was where horses could be changed and watered. Travellers could take refreshments and later alcohol was licensed. Elizabeth Burns (daughter of Robert Burns) lived here at one point in the Halfway House with her husband, John Bishop, being employed as an overseer on the Polkemmet Estate, and in the nearby Whitburn churchyard there is a memorial to her.
Rev Alexander Carlyle (26 January 1722 – 28 August 1805) a former moderator of the Church of Scotland and autobiographer, wrote in 1744 of the area, that the closest buildings around Kirk o'Shotts were a single cottage in Whitburn, 'Whitburn itself was a solitary house in a desolate county' and that 'there was scarce a cottage to be seen east of Kirk o'Shotts'. He also described the whole area as bleak countryside, sparsely wooded, rough and hilly and weather harsh.Autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Carlyle, Minister of Inveresk
An early map of 1773 has reference to Harthill then known as 'Sidehead'. In 1795 Harthill was known as 'Sideheads' with the name having been given to a building there known as Sideheads. This building was close to where the now category B listed Viewfield house now stands on the Main Street. 1795 Parish records note a James Main of Muirhead Lands and Mathew Hanney as farmers in the area. Most people in the surrounding area at this time were farmers or farm labourers.
An entry in Reg. Prov. Coun. Vol X dated 1616 makes reference to the coal mining of John Muirhead of Braidenhill who had a going coal pit near the land of Kipp in the new Monklands Parish. This coal pit had one draught and course of water which was drawn from the pit which operated for many years until, out of grudge, Matthew Newlands of Kipp caused the water to be dammed making the pit unprofitable.
A weekly mercat (market) and two annual 'fairs' at Kirk o'Shotts had been established under a warrant by King James VII, in 1685, to James Hamilton, the 4th Duke of Hamilton. These were to be held adjoining (mal a propos) Kirk o'Shotts on the third Tuesday of June and August. The chief business done at these markets was the buying and selling of horses and cattle.
By 1882 the Harthill village was thriving with many external business links and its own commercial bank and continued to attract incomers.
Coal
Harthill and much of Central Scotland has rich deposits of coal. Digging of coal fuelled the beginnings of development in the area. Sir John Inglis of Crammond organised the first coal pits in the area at Benhar, south-west of Harthill. Nine men were initially employed and received 13 shillings per week. These miners had tied accommodation with the job and had to pay rent to the coal pit owner. If they could no longer work due to accidents or ill health, they and their family lost their accommodation. Working conditions were very poor and dangerous.
In 1806, two miles to the east of Harthill at Greenrigg, Lord Polkemmet sank a pit which employed thirteen miners, two boys and some labourers. The seam was about below ground and it produced 8,000 tons of coal per year, which was sold for 6 shillings and 4d (33 new pence) per ton into Edinburgh and generated annual revenues of around £1,000 per year.
As the demand for coal continued to increase with growth from the effects of the Industrial Revolution, factories, and housing growth in Edinburgh and Glasgow, more pits began to be sunk throughout central Scotland for more coal. More people in Scotland now worked in coal pits and factories than in agriculture.
In 1830 it was normal for women and children as young as five and six to haul trucks full of coal to the surface of the coal pits. Accident records were not kept. The Mines and Collieries Act 1842 banned women and children under ten years of age from working in coal pits. They had up to then been employed to pull coal hutches and were known as 'coal-putters'. After women were banned from working below ground, they continued to be employed in emptying and picking unwanted debris from the coal extractions. It took a further 30 years before the Government required children to receive an education before working age.
In 1887 a coal miner earned 4s per day (20 pence; a loaf of bread would have cost a penny).
Greenrigg Colliery, West Lothian, owned by the Loganlea Coal Company, was taken over by United Collieries in 1905. It produced coal and clay, the clay going to the brickworks at Bathgate to make 'Etna' bricks. A fire at Greenrigg Colliery in 1924 destroyed most of the surface buildings and the headframes. The men had to escape through a connecting passage to Southrigg Colliery near Shotts. The pit was reconstructed and continued in operation until 1960.
On 1 January 1947, the NCB (National Coal Board) took over control of all local pits. Many pits nationally needed modernisation and investment. The country's industrial, transport and housing infrastructure needed re-built. By the 1960s small pit production lost out to investment in higher productivity super-pit production. The smaller pits around Polkemmet closed.
Coal pits near Harthill Name of Pit Men Employed Underground Men Employed Above Ground East Benhar 64 21 Greenrigg 346 117 Netherton 83 18 Blairmucklehill 249 100 Benhar 620 143 Hassockrigg 263 68 Fortissat 221 41 Hillhouserigg 211 33 Batton 239 65
Baillie dynasty and legacy Lord Polkemmet (messrs Baillie) and his family, originally from Lanarkshire, had owned much land around Harthill and Whitburn. They had purchased the land from a Mr Alan Shaw in 1620. The Baillies built a mansion in the grounds of the now public Polkemet Country Park and it became the family residence for over 300 years. The Baillies owned many local collieries and Lord Polkemmet's son William was made a baronet in 1823.
Sir William Baillie and his wife Lady Baillie extended the house in 1822 and the building was in continuous ownership by the Baillie family until the 1950s. At its height the building had 39 rooms and offices, 11 domestic servants and servants quarters. The grounds included stables, fodder store, a horse driven mill, a tack room for keeping carriages and later motor cars and tennis courts and bowling green. The Baillie family played an active role in the community, giving significant sums of money for the construction of public buildings and other developments, including the Baillie Institutes (community centres) built in Harthill, Whitburn and Blackburn. The Baillie Institute building in Harthill is now the Pentecostal church. Sir William and Lady Baillie were also responsible for the establishment of the Lady Baillie Sabbath School in Whitburn. Once a year the family would open their mansion to the public and on several other days each summer made it available for Sunday school outings.
One of the most notable members of the Baillie family was the 6th Baronet of Polkemmet, Sir Adrian. He was Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Lothian and Justice of the Peace. He was Unionist MP for the Linlithgowshire constituency between 1931 and 1935. He married Cecilia (Olive) Wilson-Filmer, the eldest daughter of Lord Queensborough. She reputedly had an income of around £50,000 per year from her grandfather William Collins Whitney, an American multimillionaire. As an MP, Sir Aidrian then spent more time in London and Leeds Castle in Kent. The Baillie family ceased to be resident at Polkemmet from around this time.
During the war Polkemmet House was used both as a war hospital and accommodation for Polish soldiers who had fled Nazi-occupied Poland to continue fighting from Britain.