A Brief History of a Little Industrial Town: BO'NESS

[@eileanvm]

One of your very best Ed. On a par with any BBC TV lifestyle documentary, on a fraction of the budget I'm guessing..... You know how much we all love those old maps and photos that merge into present-day views. It can feel a bit like time-travel, which is something I'm sure we all secretly long to be able to do. Laughed out loud a few times too. "The world-wide shortage of letters" being one of those. I particularly liked the little bit of time-travel where an earlier version of you came out of the bakery bearing a pie. I like that there is always that touch of poignancy too. Thanks for telling the story of those poor young women who were killed at the wood mills. And what a harsh life people had then, grafting most of their days away and not for their own enrichment, but just to survive.....😥

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Eilean.

[@braidscots]

Well done. Great to see Ed has done his research before making this video. So many people just go and walk around with a camera and don't know anything about what they are filming. Nice also to have a positive slant!

[@peterlaycock917]

Thanks I wish you have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Peter. Have a great 2025.

[@literova]

Enjoyed your video. As a child living in Edinburgh my parents used to take us day trips to South Queensferry on the old SMT buses and on the odd occasion we would continue on to Bo'ness for a speccial treat. 50 years ago I found myself moving to Bo'ness where I still live today. When I originally moved here there was many small traders, grocers, several butchers, ironmongers, clothing shops, even a hardware shop reminiscent of the Two Ronnies four candles sketch, sold everything he did. Unfortunztely all gone now. Nevertheless it's still a nice place to live.

[@olwens1368]

Ironmongers- if it's the same place I remember, I think the man who owned it- tall, gray haired, always wore a brown 'shop coat' was called Mr Jamieson. I was sometimes taken in there on a Saturday by my father and used to get unspeakably bored as the 2 of them could talk for HOURS about washers and nails and other things indescibably tedious to a small girl...and Woolworth's was just next door.. torture.

[@egallagher41]

Thanks Ed, you and yours have a very merry Christmas and please keep Scotland alive while you are travelling🥳🤠

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Guys. Let's hope for a great 2025.

[@IanDonnelly-iq8cf]

Another beezer video Ed, will watch it again to soak in the information . Thanks, Ian

[@davidmuir6849]

Fantastic Ed ,thanks for doing this clip of Boness as I requested a wee while ago ,you’ve done a superb job . I fondly remember where you were standing up at the Town hall -as a 10 year old ,flying my balsa plane with a rubber band for power ,it ignited a spark to this day ,I’m 61 years old and I’ve been working in aviation for the last 43 years ,12 in the Raf and the remainder as a Caa licensed aircraft engineer and private pilot ……. before joining the Raf at 17 I worked down kinneil pit as a miner from 16 to 17 years old 😊 Great memories Thanks again Dave Muir now living in Cupar Fife

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Dave. Goodness, but I remember those Balsa planes. Let's hope for a peaceful 2025. 👍

[@Hangfireflyer]

Great video, as a resident of Bo’ness it’s great to see the wee toons history 😊

[@sheilam4525]

Very informative, as always, Ed, thank you. I love seeing the old photographs. Makes you wonder what our country will be like in another 100 years!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Sheila. Here's to the next century.

[@GraemeCampbellMusic]

Great video Ed. My late Dad grew up in Harbour Rd, his Dad moved there from Slammanan in 1940 and married a local. When I did my family tree I discovered that my Grandmothers family goes back centuries there, some of them working at the timber yard in the 19thC as well as miners, labourers etc. I love a wander round Bo'ness when I can.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Graham. During recording I discovered Corvi's - best fish supper I've had in a long time. I'll be back. 👍

[@williamf4544]

@@EdExploresScotland Yes Corvi"s or Rosie Corvi"s as it used to be called by the locals been there for donkeys years and Serafini"s for the ice cream - Having said that my Grannie wouldnt ever go to Corvi"s because at some point (probably during the war or shortly thereafter) there used to be a big black cat always sat on the counter and you know what small towns were like -Doesnt take much to cause a scandal and they never ever forget

[@williamhorne6421]

Great video Eddie, I have a family connection to the town, & I will share this with them. I love maritime history, so to realise Bo'ness was a major port for the tall ships in it's heyday is fascinating for me. Wishing you all health & happiness for this New Year. Also love the old maps. Appreciate the work you put into this, hope you are having a wee dram & an IPA to celebrate!!!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks William. All the best for 2025.

[@jomo102]

Another great and well researced video Ed. Thanks. Oh and your music is also top class.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you. 👍

[@oadiedoadie]

Lived here as a boy. Brilliant as usual

[@SoundsToBlowYourMind]

Very interesting video Ed, you have a new subscriber! I've lived in a big old flat on South Street, Bo'ness for the last 20 years or so, when I moved out from my parents' house in Armadale! I worked in an office in Edinburgh at the time, but couldn't afford a flat in Edinburgh, so had to look elsewhere and I fell in love with a large double upper flat in Bo'ness (which cost about the same as a small studio flat in Edinburgh) and I've lived there ever since!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Always nice staying by water. It's a lovely area.

[@auldfouter8661]

Very interesting. Nearly 50 years ago I used to order lorryloads of sawdust ( to bed dairy cattle in the byres in Ayrshire ) from Anderson , Bo'ness which presumably was a byproduct of sawmilling there. I was always struck by the accent of the lady who would answer the phone , saying "Annersin Bo.nehhh'esssss " with a very pronounced up lift towards the end of the phrase, typical of the east coast and so different to the downfalling in west coast accents. Alongside all this industrial heritage there was still a strong farming industry in the surrounding countryside. My great grandfather was born at Polmonthill farm , just a few miles west of Bo'ness. The slopes of that farm became a golf course and artificial ski run. When he married c 1888 he took the farm of Bearcrofts, Grangemouth on the flat carse land on the shores of the Forth. It was just 10 to 15 ft above sea level. When my grandmother married my grandfather in 1921 and went to live at Bearcrofts she said she loved being near the sea and it was a lovely place. There was what was called the Shelly Bank along the shore which consisted of a vast amount of cockle shells ( Granny fed them to her numerous hens so the eggshells were strong - both sea shells and eggshells are calcium carbonate ). I had assumed that this was a natural formation but was astonished to learn much later that it was actually a shell midden created by early human inhabitants of the shore line. Sadly the oil works began in 1925 and Granny said the oil company would flush out oil tanks at high tide , dumping a stinking mass that would wash up onto the shoreline. My mother was born at Bearcrofts in 1925 but by 1944 the oilworks were expanding rapidly over the farm and the family had to leave . ( the farm was on the Earl of Zetland 's estate). In the closing shots of the video there was a good view of the oilworks over your shoulder - it seems they have a more uncertain future now.

[@nsholk]

Fantastic job Ed. Like many I suppose, I came for the heritage railway last summer. Would have liked to have had time to look around a bit more. Thanks for giving me (and the world) that chance.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Definitely worth a return visit for the fish suppers out of Corvi's. Awesome.

[@martinpercival63]

Bo'ness is a fascinating town - an important place in my family history

[@olwens1368]

Agree- deserves much more attention than it gets. Remember as a VERY small child at BPS having our school motto- and the town motto- explained to us- Sine Metu- the whaling industry, mining, making pit props for most of the country I think, ironworks and foundries. We used to get taught about all that stuff back in the 60s... I believe the town still got a Xmas tree from Norway even ten, and there used to be a Norwegian consulate somewhere near the old Post Office back in the Victorian days, because of the amount of timber we bought. One fairtime we were taught the Norwegian national anthem, which I was delighted to find I still remember all these years later- and is 'right' (checked with a Norwegian..) Sine Metu- without fear, by the way.

[@mairimillar8866]

Thank you for another great video, Ed. They always prompt me to seek out more information on places you mention eg.Antonine wall. Hope you had a good Xmas&New Year! Mx PS.favourite is your comparisons with old and new views(thank you).

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Mairi. It's a lovely area of the country. Let's hope for a peaceful 2025.

[@brycehermon5939]

Another excellent video thanks Ed. I guess it's good to be reminded of our history. So that we can see where we have come from to where we are today. We obviously can't change history but hopefully, we can learn from it and maybe appreciate those who have been before us. Keep up the great work Ed.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Bryce.

[@PixieStirling]

Oh how i wish you could find photographs of the miners houses, not at the Snab but at Castleloan long gone, I’ve have tried everything i could but maybe you can, as part of your journey perhaps in the future.Thank you for all your videos enjoy your pint.❤❤

[@williamf4544]

I dont have pictures of Castleloan ( well maybe a couple with a few houses in the background) but i do have a couple of old pictures of when a lot of the folk from Castleloan went on an outing - I think one is just up the Dean but i think the other might be Portobello - I have no idea who any of the people are in the pictures apart from my Grannie and my mum - Im guessing the pics were taken about the late 1940s My mum and her brothers and sister were brought up in Castleloan during the war and a bit after

[@ThamesShips]

Great video. Very interesting to learn about the history of the docks and the harbour.

[@MrMaharg65]

Unexpected to see a little video from you today Ed - but great to see you still out & about ! Magic 👌🏼 Hope you had a Good Christmas 🎄

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Graham. Yeh, I'd put a video out a few days back then deleted it. Too much festive ale. All the best for next year.

[@williamf4544]

The Co-op was King back in the day in Bo"ness - At one point having individual shops - grocers, butchers, bakers, dairy, drapers, furniture shop, paint/wallpaper shop, tv/electrical shop and coffee house along with four other outlets in other parts of the town and of course the offices where all the women of Bo"ness would que up on the big day to collect their Co-op Dividend which after the Fair was probably the biggest highlight in the Bo"ness year

[@cabbygolf]

Falkirk council killed off bo'ness. My gran may main/ smellie loved the fair, many happy childhood memories of the toon,and the walks along the shore at grangepans😊

[@williamf4544]

@@cabbygolf May Main that name rings a bell - Well i suppose it would you know what Bo"ness was like - i knew what house virtually everyone in my year at school lived in though i have no idea how i knew that as i had never been at most of them ever - was your Gran related to the McGilverys ?

[@cabbygolf]

Possibly there was a fair amount of cousins I've never met. She lived at 12 bridgeness road when it was built till her death.Used to tell us of all the characters back in the Also she was a stalwart in the early 1900s for the labour movement. She loved a high tide, which meant a lot of coal would be washed up on the shore,off she would go with an old battered pram and fill it with the coal. Forever raising money for the fair,she was a well Kent face in bo'ness.

[@olwens1368]

I remember the day the Co-op grocery store went over from being an old fashioned grocers to (drum roll) a SELF SERVICE SUPERMARKET. Taken shopping by my mam- the manager himself was standing at the door, looking worried and flustered, handing out wire baskets (no trolleys back then) and thanking people for coming ! Early/mid 1960s ?

[@williamf4544]

@olwens1368 Yes that would be about right - It must have been about 1965/6 when i remember being in the Casteloan Co-op with my Grannies and it was it was a big counter that stretched all along the walls of the shop- so probably just before it changed to self service - I also remember one of the mobile carts was still pulled by a horse about that time too - Makes you feel ancient

[@lynnthomason6589]

Enjoyed this very much Ed. That damp cold weather is rough to walk through. You’re very hardy in spite of it. Way to go! I hope you’re having a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year to boot! Stay safe and well. Lynn in Naples FL. Cheers💫🌟

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Lynn. All the best.

[@vermeerofdelftscotlandwalk3294]

A very interesting video. I've never been there, but maybe one day......... Merry Christmas and a happy new year Ed.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Definitely worth a visit. Best Fish Supper I've had in a long while in Corvi's. All the best.

[@stevieneilson2451]

Brilliant 👏🏻 really enjoyed it.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@annebanks5586]

Hi Ed, I am getting to know places in my Scotland that I had heard of but never seen. You are making this possible for me. Next time I come home I will be visiting some of these places that you are showing me. Thank you so much. I don't hold Xmas, however I will be raising my glass to you at 12 o'clock New Year. I don't feel so far away and alone now ! thanks to you. Anne

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Anne. All the best.

[@dougie6886]

Excellent ❤

[@jocky2]

Great video and music Eddy, and a great education on the town, thanks for all your efforts and for sharing it with us, Hpe you had a nice Christmaas and have a gret new year, yeah, looking forward to the longer days again so ye kin git oot an aboot fur longer !

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers guys. Let's hope for a more peaceful 2025.

[@lindahughes6567]

My home town❤

[@heatherbruce4496]

My daughter has a boat. She spent some time there she loved it. Hope you had a nice Christmas ed ❤

[@EdExploresScotland]

All the best Heather.

[@alanglasgowbassist]

Excellent video Ed. I have never heard of this place but will definitely make a point of visiting sometime. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and best wishes for the New Year mate

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Alan. Great fish supper in Corvi's. All the best.

[@Gina-c5h8f]

Whilst researching my family history I found an interview in the local paper with my Great-great grandfather. He said there was a road bridge over the Forth planned to be built in Bo'ness but the project fell through after the caissons were sunk around 1870.

[@brendaguerin5423]

Thank you!😊

[@olwens1368]

The house in the first photo with the 'town knock' as it was known was called Arnott's Hill and always fascinated me because it looked as if it far predated the rest of the street- Stewart Avenue. We lived in the house immediately to the right of the photo, and by my day there was a pleasing little block of 4 council maisonettes built in front of Arnott's Hill on the street. Always trying to find information about the field behind our house- once I think a churchyard with a church (long, long gone)- called 'the Buckie'. No, nothing to do with the drink !

[@stevenqueen9389]

You've made the Falkirk Herald Ed, another informative and enjoyable video

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks for letting me know. All the best for 2025.

[@lynnthomason6589]

Hi Ed. Happy New Year 🎆. I enjoyed this video very much. Have a Blessed Holiday Season 💫🌟 Lynn in Naples FL

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Lynn. May 2025 bring warmth and lots of pies.

[@miltonofbuchanan]

Another great video. Have a good new year Ed and looking forward to see where you get to in 2025.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks. Let's hope for a peaceful 2025.

[@RabP-m2i]

Great video, ..Boness much loved by many grandads and grandweans for the steam trains🚂

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Rab. Lovely place indeed.

[@WilliamFullarton-x8o]

another cracking video Ed have you been to the old clyde tunnel on the Govan road its close now i came from kinning park and walk few it are couple of times took you to the famous pub call bettys bar at the other side or just got the small ferry back home those where great days wish you are happy new year cheers billy

[@EdExploresScotland]

All the best Billy.

[@marybaumgartner9425]

Lovely video! Living in California now, but born in Bo’ness and spent my pocket money at the Hippodrome on Saturdays at the movies.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Mary.

[@bobmcintyre9490]

I hope you have a Happy New Year Ed

[@EdExploresScotland]

And you Bob. Take care.

[@christinesimm5251]

Thank you. I hope you don't mind I have ashared this to 2 Bo'ness Facebook pages where lots have people have enjoyed it.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Christine.

[@iainmc9859]

I really like Bo'ness. Its avoided gentrification like Culross and still smells of industry. Every time I've been there it must have been winter though as its been dark and bloody cold and the trains haven't been running.

[@Morisrix]

I really enjoy your videos, I found this one to be particularly interesting. I have lived in Bo’ness for around 3 years and have some old maps of the town. I’ve been looking for old photos which might show the area where my actual house is. The building where my house now stands is shown as “ session house “. on an old map, it is next to what was once the old church from around 1640 ? in the area of Corbiehall. Where do you source your old photos from ? I would just love to see an old photo of the church or session house. Your videos are great 👌 Many thanks Christine

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Christine. I highly recommend the source : collections.falkirk.gov.uk/explore

[@Morisrix]

@ thank you ! I wish you all the best for the coming New Year 😘

[@SaveEarthPlsBeKind]

Quite a lot of the drain covers(?) in Edinburgh have the 'Boness Iron foundry' name in them. :-)

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely.

[@olwens1368]

And in many other places- including at least one in Cardiff- I was walking round with a friend, glanced down and let out a yelp of excitement. How can a drain cover make you feel homesick- if only for a moment...

[@cabbygolf]

No Sneddons or Simpsons were harmed during the making of this programme ....

[@williamf4544]

Back in the day there were that many Sneddons a lot of them were given nicknames - Cobbler Sneddon being one i remember my mum mentioning

[@cabbygolf]

Only a true native will get the reference 😊.

[@dream1way]

Your blue guide called it a “little industrial town” where as Rabbie Burns was a bit more forthright in his visit circa 1787, calling it a “dirty wee toon” - granted as it would have been a far cry from the rolling hills of Ayrshire. As a Bo’nessian myself, all I can say is “wha’s like us!”.

[@EdExploresScotland]

I suppose times change. Not always for the better. Take care.

[@johnmull59]

Thanks Ed. I think Oliphant the baker sadly closed quite recently. Hope you had a good Christmas and all the best for 2025. I think the cause of the Great Letter Shortage of 1652 can be pinpointed to have started in Wales near the village of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch 😊

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers John. Yes, they hogged the lot down in Wales. All the best for 2025.

[@olwens1368]

Yeah yeah, when in doubt, blame the Welsh...

[@dontnoable]

Airth was a big harbour too wasn't it?

[@EdExploresScotland]

I don't know. Many harbours along the Forth long gone.

[@jimflynn466]

One of my ancestors was killed in the Kinneil pit by a roof fall in 1864, his wife was pregnant and at the shock of his death she went into labour and had a daughter, when tracing the family tree, his death was registered under two different spellings and his new born daughter was registered in another spelling as well, this made it quite difficult.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Yes, family trees can be a nightmare with spelling variations.

[@PixieStirling]

Glad you managed to get your tooth fixed.❤

[@PixieStirling]

Have you read why the original tower is no more?.❤

[@williamf4544]

The second one got pulled down due to subsidence so i suspect the first one might have had the same problem - They do say that underneath what is now the town area of Bo"ness is another town that subsided though thats local folklore and if true would have been hundreds and hundreds of years ago

[@williamf4544]

The moarns the fair and i"ll be their and i"ll have up ma curly hair

[@thetimetraveller6550]

Wow yer hardy Ed yer in Bo,ness i thought ya would have been at home scoffing in tae yer turkey🦃 dinner well done indeed😊

[@PixieStirling]

Well Eddy you can’t please everybody every time but there was so much of the history of Bo’ness that wasn’t😅 cover😊, Kinneil House for instance and the importance it played (right or wrong ) in the towns’ history. Rabbie Burns description of Bo’ness in 1787 ‘’a dirty ugly place”. Eddy no pint 🍺. 😂❤

[@williamf4544]

And the story of Lady Hamilton who jumped to her death from Kinneil House ( who she was fleeing from im not quite sure) but they do say her ghost still haunts the place where she fell

[@karalynemccormack5812]

6:50 - A Worldwide Shortage of Letters which occurred in 1652? How do you get a worldwide shortage of letters? Could nobody just write a few? Or dd they have to mine them, or farm them back in those days? Good job they found some init? Otherwise we might all be walking around sounding like Apes, talking in vowels "OO-e-aa-oe!" "Ie?" "Oo-e-u-a-oo?" "Uu-o-a!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely. As someone else pointed out, the shortage occured because they used more than their fair share in Wales with words like, 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch'.

[@Truthteller886]

You should screen this at the hippodrome in Bo’ness asap also Bo’ness has one of the oldest chip shops in Scotland …the wonderful corvies

[@EdExploresScotland]

That's a nice idea. I had a fish supper from Corvi's after filming. Best I've tasted in a long while.