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Settlements and farms within Fauldhouse have existed since, at least, the Middle Ages, and was known until the 19th century by the names Falas, Fallas, Fawlhous and Falhous. The first written mention of Fauldhouse was in 1523.[1] The seventeenth century Dutch mapmaker Willem Blaeu features Fauldhouse as Falas on two maps in his Atlas Novus of Scotland, and there are families with the surname Fallas. The name Fallas or Fauldhouse has been translated as "house on the fold", "house in the field", or "house on unploughed (fallow) land".[1] However, the name may be older than the Middle Ages, and might even be derived from the Brythonic or Welsh-type language once spoken in the Lothian region. Historically, Fauldhouse was in the parish of Livingston but in 1730 it was transferred to Whitburn.[1] Fauldhouse is a former mining community. A mine existed in the area as early as 1790.[1] However, the community developed extensively from the 1830s following discovery of coal and iron resources, in particular the discovery of an extractable slatery ironstone.[1] Focusing initially around three smaller settlements (Crofthead, Drybridge and Greenburn), the village eventually grew and combined as one settlement, following new mines and the coming of the railway in 1845 (transportation of mine workings) and a second line in 1869.[2] Some twenty mines were in operation around Fauldhouse, with the last closing in 1974.[2] Nearby significant local mines and quarries (now closed) included:
The village previously had a theatre and cinema, the Palace Theatre, which opened in 1914. It later became the Savoy Bingo Club and was then demolished. |