It was announced in the West Lothian Courier on the 31st January 1874 that the Estate of Foulshiels, owned by Mr Thomas Maxwell Durham, had been tested for coal with great success.   The Drumpellier Coal Company leased the mineral rights and commenced shaking operations in May of that year.   At a depth of 27 fathoms (162 feet, or 50 metres) a 3 ft deep seam of "fine, clean, black coal" was found which was 8 inches thicker than the bore sample.   Three other seams of 2ft 6 inches, 3ft 6 inches and 5ft were found at a further 18, 90 and 42 feet respectively.  The mineral field on this estate alone extended to over 400 sq. acres (165 hectares).   The site was developed over the next five years and was then taken over by the Loganlea Coal Company run by Mr. Thomas Maxwell.

In 1878, David Dewar, a stonemason from Fauldhouse built four cottages on the north side of what was to become the Main Street.   These were all tenanted by men who worked in the small Stoneyburn Colliery which was situated where No's 1 & 2 Elizabeth Gardens now stand and was owned by the Waddell's of Stoneyburn House.   These first new houses became known as "Dewar's Buildings".  In 1897 the Loganlea Coal Company commenced building the first houses in the village for their employees at the new colliery.   By the end of the year 87 houses, 1 shop and a pub had been completed, 1 shop and a pub had been completed but as yet only 22 of them were occupied.   These houses were the start of what later became known as the Old Rows or "Raws" and were sited parallel to the Main Street, where the "Strathyres" now stand.   There were three rows of these houses, the centre one was single storied and the individual houses were only one-roomed, called "single-ends", with a bed in the living room.   The other two rows were double storied and were houses with a living room and a separate bedroom.   The upstairs houses were reached by an outside stairway.  The toilets were communal and separate from the houses and were originally "earth closets".   The following year saw 83 of the houses occupied and by the end of 1899 there were families in 98 of them and a further 48 were being built.  David Dewar had also added a stable and coach house to his property.

By 1901 the hall and reading room at the Institute were built and the number of houses had risen to 142 - and a year later they were all occupied.   The first school in the village was also built in this year and a single story house with a shop attached was built by John Paton at Beachwood Place.   A few years later a two-storied building containing 4 houses was built adjoining this property.   Near the brickworks at the colliery a new house was built in 1903 for the Colliery Manager, John. B. Kilpatrick.

Near the brickworks at the colliery a new house was built in 1903 for the Colliery Manager, John. B. Kilpatrick.   Over the next 14 years only another 16 houses were built by the colliery and the first blacksmiths shop was opened by Thomas and Robert Walker.   The first new houses to be built in the Bents were the two semi-detached cottages on the north side of the Main Street which have caused great confusion by also being called Bents Cottages.   It has been very difficult to differentiate between them whilst researching this history.  These new cottages were built around 1906.

In 1915 the West Lothian Housing Society started to build 16 houses at Cannop Crescent and a further 58 at Bents.   These latter were to become known at the Garden City, a revolutionary concept in mining housing which put Stoneyburn on the map.   This was the first attempt at low density housing and afforded the tenants their own individual gardens instead of the common 'back gardens' of the old rows.   The scheme took two years to complete and similar types of houses were seen springing up in the surrounding mining districts.   It is indeed strange that this innovation took place whilst the country had been plunged into War.   In 1917 the village now had four shops, including the first Co-op, and the Paton brothers had opened their "Picture Palace" which had originally been the United Free Church in Addiewell.   It had been dismantled and brought piece by piece over to Stoneyburn and re-erected.   New style tenement terraced houses were also being built by United Collieries - 44 in Dalziel Terrace (later to be renamed Johnston Terrace) and by 1918 there were 40 in Clark Terrace (later renamed Muir Terrace).   David Ewing had also built 3 houses and a shop at Dalziel Place.

There were no new houses built until 1923 when a large double storied house called St. Quentin's was built by the Paton brothers, on the site where the War Memorial now stands.   Another addition to the village was "Bourne End" at Cannop Crescent.   There was however a great proliferation of shops all around the Main Street and especially in Mark Lane - which was roughly where the Chinese Takeaway now stands.   There was also a great number of sheds and henhouses recorded as being built during these years.   Two years later saw Wilson, Gardner and Lighton Terraces built on what was known as the Western Park and all were occupied.   The house, "Kia Ora" and shop (later to become the bank) were built by Archie Mancini from Fauldhouse.   44 houses in Strathie Terrace and 64 in Johnston Terrace were built by United Collieries, and Annie Kerr opened a wooden shop in Bents which was looted and burned down in the 1926 strike.

By 1926 Crofthead Co-op had opened and the cottages and shops on the west side of Stoneyburn Gatehouse were built.   Another house, shop and bake house were built in Bents by Annie and George Fox, now called Anndale House.   Andrew Hamilton built the house, shop and garage at Knowepark and in 1928 the United Free Church and Manse were erected.   The only major addition to the village in the 1920's was the new and very spacious Miners' Welfare Hall followed with the provision of the recreation ground and the pavilion in the early 1930's.

In 1934 West Lothian County Council started building the first of the new style, low density Council houses.   These were Auchenhard Terrace and Nos 1-39 and 2-24 Cuthill Crescent.   In 1936 the Church Hall was added and in the following year the Pentecostal Church and the new bungalow "Hillview" were built, the latter by Andrew Black.

By 1939 Cuthill Crescent had been extended to Nos 87 and 52 along with Nos 1-11 and 2-12 Cuthill Terrace.   The tennis courts were laid out as were the Football Park and Pavilion for the Junior Football Club.   Cuthill Crescent and Terrace were completed by 1940.   Our Lady's Primary School was started in the same year and opened in 1941.   There were no more additions until four years later when United Collieries built the new bungalow "Redcroft" as a home for the manager since the Crofthead House was no longer inhabitable.  The Masonic Hall was built in 1948 and 24 'prefabs' were erected in the Glenview area during 1947/48.

In 1950 the County Council started the new housing in Bents with Nos 1-8 Crofthead Road and 1-14 Redcroft Terrace.   During the mid-1950's the 'prefabs' were replaced by new brick built houses under the ownership of both the Council and the Scottish Special Housing Association, to form the present Glenview Crescent, Glenview Road and Burnbrae Road.   The same two authorities continued their building schemes from 1952 to 1954 in Meadow Road, Knowepark Road, Meadow Drive and Crofthead Road.   Sunnyside was also built along with the last houses in Burnlea Drive.  Another significant milestone was passed with the construction of the Roman Catholic Presbytery at Burnbrae Road.

It was at this time in the mid-1950's that the Old Village started to disappear.   By 1955 Johnston Terrace was almost uninhabited and three years later had been demolished.   In 1961 Crofthead House had vanished and by the following year only eleven of the Old Rows were still tenanted and were demolished by 1963.   During 1962 the Council Schemes of Strathyre Drive and Strathyre Place were built where the Old Rows had been and two years later the small scheme of Briar Cottages was completed.   This had originally been planned to be named Strathyre Place and is even shown as such on the maps of that date.   By 1966 30 houses in Strathie Terrace were empty and a start was made on the flats at Meadow and Redcroft Place.  The next year saw Burnlea Place completed but by now the last of the old Terraces or Muir and Strathie had disappeared.   By 1968 Meadow Place , Redcroft Place and Wallace Walk had been completed and by 1970 the village was then almost completed by the building of the flats at Park View along with two shops and the new Surgery along with the last of the Council Schemes at Dick Place.   Crofthead Co-op closed in 1973.

Since then there has been a steady increase in the building of private houses.   "Annandale",  "The Beeches",  "Green Gables",  "Shalimar",  "Struan",  "Sutherlarach" and "Bardaval" all built through the 1970's.   In 1975 a large shop was built by the Mullards on the south side of the Main Street to house a general store and an enlarged Post Office.   The next decade saw "Arden-Vale",  "Brooklands" and "Meadowcroft" built along with the first of the houses in Parklands Grove.   The mid-1980's saw four of the old cottages at Cannop demolished and gradually replaced by new houses.

The old original cottages built by David Dewar and later used as a shop was sadly destroyed by fire and thus one of the remaining links with the past had gone forever.   The site was cleared and was replaced by a new bungalow.   The little house on the Main Street (across from what used to be 'Supreme Windows') was extended and refurbished about the same time and another house was built a few yards further west of it in 1987.   In the same year a new private scheme of 14 houses, Elizabeth Gardens, was started on the waste ground behind where Johnston Terrace had stood, and another bungalow "Willowcroft" was built next to "Redcroft".   Two semi-detached bungalows were also built at the north end of Burnbrae Road, opposite the old Crofthead Co-op.

During the 1980's and early 90's there was an ever increasing number of houses becoming privately owned by the sitting tenants buying them from either the District Council, Scottish Special Housing or from the Coal Board.   In September 1987 all the houses still owned by the Coal Board were sold to a private company who improved the standard of most of them and then gave the tenants the option to buy.  Any which became vacant were then put on the open market.

The first few years of the 1990's have seen the almost derelict Park View flats completely refurbished and the building now consists of 36 maisonette flats.   A new bungalow was built on the north side of the Main Street on the site of the old Cuthill Crossing Cottage next to the new school.   The old railway cottage, Bents Cottage, was demolished thus losing yet another of the original buildings and it too has been replaced by a modern house bearing the old name.

Another bungalow and a chemical business premises were also built on the north side of the Main Street next to the Bentswood Inn.   The village is continuing to expand however with another private scheme call Mansegrove, comprising of 14 houses on the site of the former Miners Welfare Hall and the play-park behind the manse.   At the time of writing there is planning for 60 houses on some of the land of Stoneyburn Farm, south of Cuthill Crescent and it is possible that even more could be in the pipeline in the future.   There is also a small development of 14 amenity houses being built on the site of the former Knowepark Caravans Showrooms.   The derelict Miners' Social Club beside Beechwood Football Park has been purchased by a builder with a view to putting houses on the site.   To bring this chapter right up to date, another house has been erected in what was the old garden of Bents Cottage, another large house has been built on the old railway line behind Bents Cottage and a new house is being built in the grounds of Stoneyburn House.