Paulville was one of approximately twenty “lost villages” in West Lothian, which were primarily built between 1855 and 1910 to house the workforce for local mines and oil works. In 1917, the settlement consisted of 67 houses.

Located in Bathgate, the village was situated near the Bathgate Water (also known as the Boghead Burn) and Meadowpark Avenue. Today, the village’s name survives in local infrastructure, such as the B7002 Boghall (Paulville) Bridge—a twin masonry arch structure—as well as in modern energy network development plans for the area.

Like many Scottish mining communities of the era, Paulville’s homes were built in “Rows”. Historical records offer a few glimpses into the lives of the villagers during the 1920s:

Emigration:

In February 1923, a 21-year-old domestic worker named Annie Tuchy, whose residence was 24 Paulville, left the village to emigrate to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

Colliery Accidents:

Mining was a highly dangerous occupation for the men of the village. In March 1926, John Wilson, a 39-year-old miner living at 39 Paulville Rows, was fatally crushed by a train of runaway tubs while walking to work down a haulage road at the nearby Riddochhill Colliery.

Ultimately, Paul Ville shared the fate of West Lothian’s other lost villages, which were eventually abandoned and demolished. Mining companies often allowed these rows to fall far behind modern standards, lacking basic amenities like running water and indoor toilets. Because there was no money available for large-scale renovations, the local Council designated many of these housing rows as slum clearance areas in the 1930s, knocking them down and relocating the displaced residents into newly built council houses