The Courier and Almond Valley Heritage Trust have teamed up to take readers on a trip down memory lane.
The brown and grey frontage of Broxburn Snooker Club now appears plain. In the lane at one end of the building, however, the grey panelling has peeled back to reveal evidence of a former glory.
There are traces of decorative letters that was once a wonderful piece of sign-writing but it is now not immediately obvious what this ghost sign once said.
The two-storey sandstone building was once the Cardross Hotel. It was built in 1886 for Thomas Brownlee, a local butcher and for the first few years the Cardross established a good reputation.
In 1890 Brownlee withdrew from practical management and let control of the business for a 10 year period to a Mr.Barr; a spirit dealer from Glasgow.
Barr installed a succession of tenant licensees, imposing exorbitant rents. There were five tenancies over the course of 10 years, one ending in bankruptcy, and many instances of fights and public disorder. The licensing board eventually lost patience and withdrew the licence.
It was not until Mr Barr was out of the picture did order return and the licence restored to his final tenant, William White.
At the start of the 20th century, the hotel was doing a good trade as a venue for meetings and functions.
In 1906, the premises were extended and it boasted two bars downstairs, one upstairs, and a jug bar for the carry-out trade. Fourteen years later, following the passing of the Temperance (Scotland) Act, the voters of Broxburn chose to limit the number of licensed premises in the area, requiring six of the 22 pubs and hotels to relinquish their licence.
Among those selected was the Cardross Hotel. In December that year, though, Broxburn Cooperative Society’s premises had been gutted by a disastrous fire.
Within a few days the Co-op negotiated to buy the Cardross.
While never well-suited for them, the Co-op continued to operate from the Cardross buildings for many years.
