In the years before the village came into being, the few people in the area were either the landowners themselves or those who worked for the landowners, either as their domestic servants or on the farms as tenants or their labourers.   With the development of the coal industry the few miners employed by the old Stoneyburn Colliery became the first of the workforce in the new Foulshiels Colliery, which opened in 1898, operated by the Loganlea Coal Company.   Some of the new influx of inhabitants went to work in the established pit at Loganlea, but as Foulshiels was developed, more were employed there.

The Company was taken over by The United Coal Company in 1903, the first manager being John B. Kilpatrick.   In 1923 the workforce comprised 455 persons, 347 of them were underground workers and 108 worked on the surface.   This number rose to its maximum of 500 underground and 130 on the surface in 1930 and then steadily decreased over the next decade.

The colliery was extensively modernised in 1935 and had prestigious canteen facilities.   The coal produced was classified as both Household and Steam and the highest output was in 1948 when 142,500 tons were produced.   In its last full working year the Foulshie still produced a figure of 109,000 tons.   Despite this achievement the pit was closed prematurely in 1957 because of a 'cave in' in the winding shaft.   By this time the workforce numbered 343 underground and 92 at the surface.

The Coal Board declared that it would be too expensive an operation to re-open the pit in view of the limited life expectancy of the pit and so, after only 60 years, the "raison d'être" of the village came to an end.   After it closed many of the miners went to work in other pits, Polkemmet at Whitburn employing the largest number.   The Foulshie had a fairly good safety record even though there were, of course, many accidents, some resulting in severe injuries, but thankfully there were relatively few fatalities.   The most notable accident occurred on the 1st April 1954 when the powder magazine blew up, killing the man who was inside, Bob Beveridge, and severely injuring Joe Murray who was nearby.

Like all the other pits the Foulshie was involved in the industrial turmoil of the early 1920's.   There were great problems throughout the industry and it was beset by strikes, the most serious and harmful to the miners and their families was the one in 1921 and, even more serious, the one in 1926.   There was little money in strike funds in those days; 2 shilling (10p) per week, so the men and their families became dependent on the 'Soup Kitchens' which were set up in the village.   During the 1921 strike, a soup kitchen was organised by the Missionaries Miss Sullivan and Miss Ormesby in the Garden City, but during the 1926 strike the largest was run from the school and, for many, this was their only source of food.   There were many schemes to try and raise money for the striking miners.   One notable scheme was when Hugh Haggarty, playing on the fiddle, and Willie McLean, a champion Clog Dancer, went touring round the county performing their act on the back of McGilvary's lorry.   They actually travelled as far as Dundee on one occasion and collected £70.0.0 - a real fortune in those days.

Feelings were running extremely high and there were constant threats of violence.   At one point Churchill actually ordered a contingent of the Royal Navy to the village to subdue any insurrection and protect any of the managerial staff as well as the 'blackleg' miners who crossed the picket lines.   These sailors were brought by train from the base at Port Edgar, near South Queensferry.   They disembarked from the train at the level crossing at the east end of the village, marched with rifles shouldered all through the village and set up a tent camp in the fields at Bents Farm.   Thankfully they were never called into action as the striking miners were virtually starved into submission and forced to go back to work after seven months.

There are a few points about the 'Foulshie' which merit special mention and no doubt there are twice as many which have not been recorded.   In 1917 the rents for the houses in the 'Old Rows' were 4 shillings and 3 pence (22.2p) per week and those in the Garden City and Cannop were 5 shillings and 6 pence (25.5p) per week.  In 1920, possibly the first fatality was Patrick Lee who died in a roof fall in the Lady Morton Section, but a survivor of this accident was his working partner, Henry Dougan.   In the same year there was a meeting held to discuss the purchase of an ambulance (car) and it was decided that each employee in the three local pits would pay 1 shilling (5p) to start the fund and thereafter 1 penny (0.24p) per week for its upkeep.

The Ambulance Team has already been mentioned, but for over 30 years they were in the forefront and up amongst the winners of all the Ambulance Competitions held throughout Scotland.   The Team in 1923 consisted of A. Urquhart, P. Rodger, A. Moffat, R. Aitken and W. Allan.   The last named emigrated to America that year and a grand presentation dinner with over 100 of his workmates was held in the Lesser Welfare Hall.

Other fatalities during the 1920's were an under-manager, Mr Sam Wilson, and also Robert Laing, John McLean and Martin Fitzgerald.   In 1928 the pit produced a new record output of 20,000 tons while George MacDougal was in his 13th year as manager.   A new shaft was being sunk and the new lifting gear would be able to raise two hutches instead of just one at a time.

In 1930 The United Collieries put forward a large donation to help towards the purchase of a new ambulance to replace the one which had been wrecked in Edinburgh.   In 1933 a revolutionary first in Scotland was the installation of sun-ray treatment at the Institute.   This was an experiment to try and improve the health of the miners by giving them artificial sunlight to compensate for the lack of real sunshine which many of them hardly ever experienced, particularly during the winter.   Two years later the new pit-head baths were opened my Mr G. Mullen, the mining manager.   There were of great benefit to the miners as they could now enjoy the benefits of sunshine, albeit artificial, and they could come to and go home from work in decent clothes, leaving their working clothes at the pit.   Probably the greatest advantage was that they could also now avoid the ritual of the tin bath in front of the fire when they got home at the end of a shift.   In 1936 there was a partial cave-in which made 500 men idle and this resulted in a new shaft being sunk.

Some snippets from the 'Forties' are that that special parcels were made up by the Co-op Women's Guild and sold to the miners for 22 shilling and six pence (£1.15).   These were reputed to be excellent value for money but it is not stated what the contents were.   There was a meeting of representatives from Loganlea and the 'Foulshie' with Mr Abe Moffatt, of the National Union of Mine Workers, to try and press for the return of the local ambulance to Stoneyburn from Bathgate where it had been transferred and to apply for the re-instatement of its driver, John Marshall.

In January 1947 over 100 people sat down to a 'knife and fork tea' in the Welfare Hall to celebrate the advent of Nationalisation and, during the day, a special ceremony was held to witness the unfurling of the new National Coal Board flag.  This was performed my James Morris, the oldest miner in the village.

After the closure of the 'Foulshie', all traces of the colliery were quickly demolished and the 'Bing' itself was bulldozed and graded into a landscaped mound in the late 1960's at a cost of £94,000.   Parts of it fairly quickly became covered with natural vegetation, grass, heather, rushes, willows and birch trees.   During 1980 a large part of the area was fenced in and planted with a variety of hardwood trees as well as a sizable plantation of conifers, mainly pine trees.

The whole area has rapidly become a haven for over 80 species of birds and for an interesting collection of smaller plants and fungi.   It has also become the home of several animals and plans are now being drawn up by the Regional Council to pass its future management to The Woodlands Trust.   It is very hard for someone who has never seen the 'Foulshie' to believe that, on the present site, with its gently sloping wooded mound and its abundant wildlife, once stood a whole mining complex.   The waste bing itself dominating the landscape and, clustered around it the network of railway tracks and lines of wagons, the offices, washing plants, baths and lockers, and two sets of pit-head winding gear.

After the closure of the 'Foulshie' pit in 1957 another attempt to mine coal in the vicinity was explored by the National Coal Board.   A new drift mine was opened near the crossroads at Stoneyburn road end.   It was sited where the Cuthill Caravan site now stands.   It was opened in 1959 but closed again in 1961.   It gave short-term employment to several of the village men but sadly came to nothing, even though some coal was mined.   On the opposite side of the Westwood Road a large pond was created which proved a popular swimming hole for some of the hardy locals, making a change from useing the confines of the 'Dookie' in the Breich Burn.

For many of those who lost their jobs with the closure of the 'Foulshie' and could not get places in other pits, the opening, in 1960, of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) Truck and Tractor Plant at Bathgate promised a return to high employment and therefore more money to spend in the very deprived district.   Alas, this was to be a relatively short-lived 'Utopia' as the factory was plagued with industrial problems and closed down again in 1986, bringing more misery to the surrounding towns and villages.   Other fairly large employers, like Plessey in Bathgate, closed down their local operations and by the late 1980's unemployment figures had soared.   The final blow came in 1985 after another bitter miners strike which forced the closure of Polkemmet, the last local colliery.   Fortunately this blow was softened by the every increasing number of firms specialising in the new technologies of the 'Silicone Age' which were being set up around the Livingston New Town and many people were taken on.   This trend has thankfully continued and the latest giant to move in is Motorola at Bathgate and also planned is a large expansion of the N.E.C. Semi-conductors plant in Livingston.   The Japanese Companies like Mitsubishi, Shin-Etsu and other have also provided many jobs and are thus helping the local economy.

Webmaster: Motorola closed the plant shortly after the publication of this book and N.E.C. has also closed.   One of the major employers in the area at the time this book was published, but was not mentioned, was BSKYB, the satellite TV company.  First opened in 1989, BSKYB continues to be a major employer in the area.

It is a fact, however, that more and more women are going out to work, many by choice but some from necessity as their men folk are considered to be 'too old' to be taken on or do not have the required skills.   For school leavers there are few openings for the traditional trades as apprentices and many are destined to remain jobless despite the Government sponsored Training Schemes, many of which regrettable only serve as a stopgap as full time jobs after training are very limited.   For those who choose to take higher education at college or university there is little hope of employment in the immediate vicinity and many are forced to leave the district altogether.   Certainly the close knit style of village life has disappeared for the foreseeable future with the population having to travel further and further afield to find work.

The Breich Enterprise Action Group, or 'BEAG' as it became known was set up in 1980 to try and provide local incentive and employment for residents of the villages of the Breich Valley:  Addiewell, Breich, Fauldhouse and Stoneyburn.   It offered Community Enterprise Development, Self-Employment, a Youth Training Scheme and Sheltered Workspaces.   It was set up with money from Central Regional and District funds.  It has set up three companies:  Stoneyburn Workshops Ltd., Central Supplies and Valleymedia.   It ran a Market Garden Scheme and a work force of trainee 'Yoppers' which were employed for a length of time of the slabbing and fencing projects in the Glenview and Strathyre areas of the village.   It has had in direct employment over 100 people and many of the small businesses it gave incentive to have moved on to bigger and better things.   It still gives employment to several of the villagers and has provided a valuable 'stepping stone' to several others.   BEAG and its 'offspring' operate from the old Primary School and are now part of a consortium of similar ventures in neighbouring towns and villages.

Two other family businesses have recently been started in the village, both of which deal with the every increasing demands of the motorist.   The first to be started was by Eamon Gallagher and his son Brian.   They built a compound and garage on the Foulshiels Road where they started up as car repairers and mechanics in 1984.   They have now added a scrapyard where second hand spares can be salvaged from wrecked cars.   Almost next door to them, Bob Allan built a large garage and workshop in 1990 and has brought in all sorts of high-tech equipment to constantly upgrade his facility as an M.O.T. Centre as well as improving his engineering and car servicing capability.
Until recently Tom Malcolm used the old Crofthead Co-op building as a garage and car repair business for almost 20 years.

Webmaster:  For non-UK browsers.  M.O.T. stands for Ministry of Transport and involves a requirement to have all cars over three years of age tested annually to make sure they are legally roadworthy and comply with emission standards.   Without an MOT Certificate you cannot purchase a Road Tax disc and subsequently, cannot legally drive your car.