Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland

Notes:
James Sandilands received the lands of Calder from his brother-in-law, William IV, Lord of Douglas, in the 14th century. During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Sir James de Sandilands distinguished himself in the wars against the English. For his services he was rewarded with a royal charter of his lands by David II of Scotland. James was well connected and married Eleanor, the only daughter of Sir Archibald Douglas, Regent of Scotland.[1] The gift included extensive estates in what is now West Lothian, and the Barony of Calder. After the Reformation in 1560, Sir James Sandilands, the head of the Sandilands family, was created Lord Torphichen. Since 1348 the family seat has been at Calder House,[2] near to the middle of the village.





Kirk of Calder.

For centuries a large part of the economy of the Scottish Highlands revolved around the breeding and trading of Highland cattle. They were moved along drove roads from all parts of the country, including some of the islands, to trysts or markets held in Crieff and Falkirk. Most of the cattle would then be driven south to feed consumers in England. Several of the drove routes used came together at Mid Calder. Huge herds of cattle would come across fords or bridges over the River Almond before crossing the Pentland Hills to West Linton. The peak year was 1840 when some 150,000 cattle passed through the area over the three months from August to October. This traffic helped support no fewer than nine public houses in the village.



Meanwhile, Mid Calder also lay on the main turnpike road from Edinburgh to Glasgow, adding a steady flow of east?west traffic to the seasonal influx of drovers heading south. However, the importance of the turnpike lessened at the same time as the cattle droving stopped, and for the same reason: the railways. And for once the acumen and foresight that had allowed the Sandilands to retain their position for so many centuries missed a beat. When the railway came to West Lothian in 1848, the then Lord Torphichen decreed that it should not come near Calder House.



As a result, Mid Calder was served by a station at Kirknewton, three miles away which was called Mid Calder until 1982. This meant that adapting to the loss of its traditional sources of income could have been difficult for the village. But at precisely the right moment the world's first oil boom occurred, in West Lothian. This was based on oil extracted from shale, and by 1870 over 3 million tons of shale were being mined each year in the area around Mid Calder. Output declined with the discovery of liquid oil reserves around the world in the early 1900s, but shale mining only finally ceased in 1962. The "bings" that characterise oil shale mining elsewhere in West Lothian have largely been flattened around Mid Calder and the land reclaimed for recreation, industry and housing.

Birth

Matches 1 to 9 of 9

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID
1	Millar, James	26 Nov 1725	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I20745
2	Fairer, Williame	1664	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47075
3	Fairer, William	1656	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47077
4	Fairer, Margrett	1648	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47080
5	Fairer, Jenat	1658	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47079
6	Fairer, Jean	1667	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47078
7	Fairer, Barbara	1653	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47076
8	Duncan, Jonet	1627	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I34139
9	Duncan, Jonat	1626	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I34152

Christening

Matches 1 to 9 of 9

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Christening		Person ID
1	Millar, James	5 Dec 1725	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I20745
2	Fairer, Williame	26 May 1664	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47075
3	Fairer, William	17 Jan 1655/56	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47077
4	Fairer, Margrett	23 Nov 1648	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47080
5	Fairer, Jenat	20 Sep 1658	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47079
6	Fairer, Jean	2 Jun 1667	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47078
7	Fairer, Barbara	16 Feb 1652/53	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I47076
8	Duncan, Jonet	20 May 1627	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I34139
9	Duncan, Jonat	20 Jun 1626	Mid Calder, West Lothian, Scotland	I34152