The last remains of a shale bing by Pumpherston

Amenities

Pumpherston still has its own primary school, which is shared with near neighbour Uphall Station. For secondary education pupils travel to one of the high schools in Broxburn or West Calder.

Pumpherston has a variety of sporting amenities including Pumpherston Golf Club ^[1], Pumpherston Bowling Club and Recreation Park, the home of Pumpherston F.C.

The Famous "Dukla Pumpherston" football team was originally, purely fictional - having been coined by the comedian Tony Roper, sometime in the 1980s for the Naked Radio show - a sophisticated European-sounding name for a small Scottish football team. The radio show called the team "Dukla Pumpherston Sawmill and Tannery". However, is now a team playing to raise funds and awareness for various charities.

Origin of the name

There are many theories around how Pumpherston became so-called. It was rumoured that the "pump" or "pumper" came from the oil shale works, that would have pumped the shale oil into tanks to be delivered to factories and homes. That theory falls apart as Pumpherston Castle existed some 250 years before the shale industry was started (by James "Paraffin" Young, in the late 19th century). A better theory is that the castle was built by someone called "Humphrey" and passed to his son. In late 17th century Scotland, "son of Humphrey" would have been known as "ap Humphrey", which sounds like "pumphrey", hence Pumphreys-ton or Pumpherston.

Archaeology

There is evidence of the Roman occupation approximately two miles north east of Pumpherston - at Roman Camp, near Broxburn.

References

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