Bathgate, Balbardie House

Balbardie House, 1793, Robert Adam (demolished)

Built for Alexander Marjoribanks, Balbardie was Robert's last villa, set in an outstandingly beautiful landscape. The central block a storey higher, with steeply pitched roof, the pedimented and pilastered first floor was linked to its pavilions by two outstanding exedrae (concave-vaulted porches). The Balbardie coal mine tunnelled underneath. Once the Marjoribanks abandoned it, it became occupied by miners then demolished in 1956 following subsidence. Recollected in Balbardie Park, with its long, yellow, metal-clad Sports Centre, 1987

Taken from "West Lothian: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Stuart Eydmann, Richard Jaques and Charles McKean, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

The house is depicted on the OS 1:2500 scale map (Linlithgowshire Sheet 9, 1897) and has since been demolished. Information from RCAHMS (S.C.), April 2002.

NMRS REFERENCE:

Balbardie House which is Category B Listed was mostly demolished in 1955-56. Information from Demolitions catalogue held in RCAHMS Library.

OWNERS: Bathgate Town Council 1955-56

ARCHITECT: Robert Adam c.1795

EXTERNAL REFERENCE (not held at RCAHMS):

Architectural Review, October 1920

Article by Thomas Purves Marwick. Reproduces Adam presentation drawings and photographs (one of which is held in the RIAS Collection at RCAHMS).

Information from Ian Gow (NTS), Dec 2005