The first shop in the village was built by the Loganlea Coal Company on the Main Street in front of the Old Rows in 1897 and was a general store and grocery.   This building also contained the first public house and both of these businesses were run under lease from the Company by one of the first inhabitants, Andrew Black.   By 1908 Andrew had purchased both these properties and, while he ran the shop, he employed James McMorran as his barman.   The second shop was a fruiterers and greengrocers, built by John and William Paton at Beechwood Place in 1913.   West Calder Co-op then leased the shop from Andrew Black in 1916.   In the same year Mary McDougal opened a drapers shop (site unconfirmed).

In 1919 David Ewing built three houses and a shop in Dalziel Place and the following year obtained a liquor licence and converted the shop into a public house.   Over the next few years several more shops were built along the Main Street, all in wooden sheds, and selling a wide variety of goods.   John Brown had a furniture business in Bents, William Milligan had a hairdressers, George Wallace ran a confectioners and Maurice Thomas ran a newsagents.   There were others dotted about the Main Street but a few were sited in Mark Lane.   These included another newsagents run by Sophia Guthrie, Johnston and Thomson were drapers, John Joyce was a barber, Alex Marshall was a shoemaker and cobbler, Mary McDougal had taken her drapery business into a new shop in St Quentin's, Annie Kerr ran a grocers at the Garden City and Andrew Hamilton had opened a grocers and confectioners in Knowepark House.   West Calder Co-op found their leased premises were too small but they kept them on as a fruit and confectionery department and built a large new complex next to the property in Dalziel Place.   This contained a grocery, a butchers and a combined drapery, boot and shoe shop.   The membership of this new branch was 257 and it had £20,000 worth of sales in its first year.

By 1926 Mr Achille Mancini from Fauldhouse had built the house called 'Kia ora' with a shop attached where he sold ice-cream and confectionery.   He later moved to the small building, now a house opposite where 'Supreme Windows' were situated, where he opened "The West End Cafe" serving fish suppers, ice-cream, tobacco and confections.   A row of four cottages and three shops were built next to the old Gatehouse, providing another draper (John Murdoch), a general store run by Georgina Wallace and the third owned by James Galloway from Shotts was another confectioners.   Crofthead Co-op opened their premises on the corner of Burnbrae Road and Agnes and George Fox built a combined house and shop along with a bakers in Bents.

In the first years of the 1930's Annie Kerr had taken over the Fox's shop and bakers.   James Barr opened a shoemakers in a wooden shop and Willie Kellock opened a hairdressers across the road from where William Alexander started his furniture store, which later became his radio and cycle shop.   Patrick Cassidy bought Dewar's Buildings, ran a coal merchants from part of the premises and also opened a shop there.   The valuation rolls of 1930 refer to the pub and shop as Black's Buildings.   In 1937 Andrew Black retired and the pub was taken over by James Blair from Bathgate.   The valuation rolls at this time show two properties listed with almost identical names.   One, St Quentin's Place is obviously the Paton's property of two houses, a shop, an office and a hall (Picture Palace).   The other is listed as a house, shop and a pub and called simply 'St Quentin's'.   This has been a real problem as none of the older villagers can recall the pub ever being called St Quentin's.   The shop owned by the bank was, at this time, tenanted by John Russell as a newsagents and confectioners.

There are several other shops advertised in a programme of a production by 'The Dramatic Club' which are worthy of note:

J.G. Wallace, Ironmongers and General Dealers, Main Street
James H. Barr, Boot Repairer, Strathie Terrace.
J. B. Orr, Gent's Hairdresser, Mark Lane
Guthrie's, for Quality, Service and Variety, Mark Lane
Alex Dobbins, Groceries and Provisions, Bents
John Low, Contractor and Motor Hirer, Bents
J. Galloway, Fish Suppers, West End
Mrs M. Thomson, Newsagents, Mark Lane
G & A Fox, Bakers and Purveyors, Bents
J. Russell, Chip Shop and Confectioner, The Hut, Stoneyburn
A. Dewar and Son, Motor Hirers and Contractors

No further significant changes occurred until 1950 when Susanna Smith took over the 'wee sweetie shop' at the Old Rows which had previously been her mother's domain.   The following year saw another three wooden shops erected next to St Quentin's which were occupied by Jan Hendries, newsagents; Nellie Paton, confectioner; and Dick Moore as a draper.   Annie Kerr obtained a liquor licence for her grocer's shop and John Low opened a general store adjoining Bents Cottages.   William Wilson took over St Quentin's Pub in 1952 and the following year gave it its present name, "The Green Tree".   Annie Kerr opened her new pub in  Bents called the "Bentswood Inn" in 1954 and The British Linen Bank became the owners of Ewing's Hotel, as the pub in Dalziel Place was now known.   In 1960 it was then named "The Ewington Hotel".   The Green Tree was purchased by Dryburgh's Brewery Company in 1962 and, in 1968, Miss Mary Russell took over the Gatehouse shop as a hairdressers.   The following year saw three new shops built by the Council, one of which was the new surgery and the other two were rented.   One was run by Jan Hendrie as a newsagents and confectioners.   This business is now being operated by her son Willie, thus making it the only shop still under 'local' management.  The other, a butchers, was first operated by a Mr Sherring and his wife.

In the early 1970's first a Mrs Chessar and then Loma and Lilly Black took over the Gatehouse as hairdressers.   George Walker opened his chip shop and St Cuthbert's Co-op had taken over the Crofthead store until it closed in 1973.  

Bathgate Co-op took over the West Calder Co-op for a few years until is became West Lothian Co-op.   'Big Fred' McLaughlin bought the Ewington Hotel in 1975 and, even since his death in 1993, it is still referred to as "Fred's" or the "Hotel".   The Mullards' new shop and Post Office was opened in the same year and in the next, the shop and house in Beechwood Place were taken over by Arshad and Ashraf, the first Asian family to come and live in the village.

In 1977, the Murray's' bought the Post Office and shop which closed in 1983 and was rented out to the firm of Hunter Carson, who later also took over the lease of the Co-op.   When this firm left these two premises in the late 1980's the first was taken over by 'Supreme Windows' and a joiner and builder moved into the latter, until it was taken over my Moore Construction in 1992.   The Beechwood Place shop was bought by the present owner, Sardar Ali in 1976, while Joe Fleider became the manager of the Green Tree in 1979.

Webmaster:  Both Arshad and Ali have both sold their businesses.   Arshad wanted to concentrate on car mechanics and sold his business to Mr Y. Sarwar, while 'Alec' Ali recently retired, selling his business to Mr A. Ahmed.
Supreme Windows went out of business about 1996 and the premises has been unoccupied and derelict ever since.  The Green Tree pub has recently closed and the premises is currently being converted into flats.

The last major changes to the scene were the unfortunate and unjustifiable closure of the Co-op complex now run by "Scotmid" in 1981, and the fire in 1983 which destroyed Dewar's Buildings, the first premises built in the village, then owned by George Walker but leased to Ian and Agnes Lumsden.   During the 1980's two more of the grocers shops were taken over by Asians and after several changes in actual ownership, two new families, the Arshads and 'Alec' Ali have settled into village life.   The ex-chip shop, once owned by the Walkers, became a Chinese Take-Away and remains so today.   The owners lived in the village for a couple of years before moving to Whitburn in 1995.

The first 'Club' in the village was 'The Institute', which was built by the United Collieries in 1901.   It was the meeting place for most of the men where they could play snooker or billiards, darts and dominoes as well as indoor carpet bowls.   There was also a quiet reading room and library for relaxation.   It also provided a hall for meetings of all kinds and a venue for concerts and other entertainment.   It was demolished in 1962.

During 1923 the Miners' Welfare Committee decided to build a large hall that could cater for all sorts of functions and the plans were drawn up and put out to tender.   The accepted plan for a large hall to seat 600 people, a lesser hall, toilets, ante rooms and a foyer with ticket booths, all to be heated with water pipes and, of course, a boiler room was estimated would cost £3,000.   The project was completed and opened in November 1924 at a most impressive ceremony with all the major figures of the United Collieries in attendance.   The ceremony was performed by the Provost of Bathgate, Mr James Doonan.

The new recreational complex surrounding the Miners' Welfare Hall was opened on the 9th May 1934 by Mr John Finlay, the General Manager of the United Colliery Company at 3:00pm.   Before the event, all the children of the village were marshalled at the school by the Headmaster, Mr Weir, to form a procession which marched round the village.   Many of the parents joined in and it was reported at the time that 1,200 people were in the procession which was led by the Stoneyburn Public Band, and supported by the Whitrigg Pipe Band, who played in the middle of the procession.   The whole event was so lavish and important that 'The Courier' devoted almost a full page to its covering of the event.   As well as the hall itself, the other amenities of the bowling green and pavilion, the tennis courts, the putting green and the children's play-park with its lovely flower-beds, all made the whole project so wonderful that people came from far and wide to see, use and enjoy it.   By the time everything was completed it had actually cost £6,000.   The hall was granted a liquor licence and a bar was added which could serve both halls.   They became the venues for many varied functions as the 'New Club' until the management ran into financial difficulties and the hall closed.   It lay empty for some time and was completely destroyed by a severe fire in 1982.

In 1955 the Miners' Social and Recreational Club was built next to the Pavilion at the Bentswood Park Football Ground.   This building, although 21 years younger than the 'Welfare' was dubbed the 'Old Club' because it had its licence before the 'Welfare'.   It was so strange that a village with such a relatively small population could support two such venues, but they both thrived for several years.   This new, but old, club also became known as the Football Club and continued to prosper until 1982 when it too had financial problems and was forced to close.   It also suffered a fire and was badly damaged, but was refurbished and re-opened in 1984, run by the Stoneyburn Juniors' Football Club but, alas, again it failed financially and closed, finally, in 1988 and has lain derelict and vandalised ever since.   There is now the possibility that a builder is taking over the site to build houses.
 

Webmaster:  Houses have now been built on the site.

The Masonic Lodge obtained a general licence in 1981 and opened up as the only Social Club in the village.   It proved a popular and busy venue on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with bingo as the main attraction and entertainers at the weekends always in conjunction with the traditional 'everybody join in, sing song'.   Unfortunately this club too has had its difficulties but has managed to survive and still offers its attractions to the faithful membership.   It is available for private functions and is also used by other organisations.

The Bowling Club leased the Pavilion or Badminton Hall from its owners, West Lothian District Council, in 1989 and, after major refurbishment, opened as a Social Club.   It has its regular band of supporters and offers bingo and entertainment as well as dancing.   It too is available for private functions.

All three pubs had their social clubs, but the longest running of these is the one held in the Bentswood Inn.   Other venues have hosted all sorts of entertainment and have been used by various organisations.  The Picture Palace, The Lithuanian Society Hut, Ewing's Hall, The Thistle Hall, The Parish Church Hall, the gym halls of both the Primary schools and, or course, The Community Centre.