Past LCT Lectures
Here are details of recent LCT lectures:
- Building St Michael’s R.C. Church
Speakers: Geoffrey Stell & Anthony Stell
Thursday 24 September at 6:30 pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
and Saturday 26 September at 2:30 pm
St Michael’s R.C. Church, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
Geoffrey Stell Our guest speaker was the renowned local building historian Geoffrey Stell. From 1991 until his retirement, Geoffrey was Head of Architecture at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and was responsible for all architectural, surveying and recording work of the RCAHMS.
The talk covered the intriguing evolution of the church building 1887-1894, as well as the original St Joseph’s Primary School and other past and present features within the church precincts.
Alan Corrie of Images Above has produced some superb aerial videos of the school and Geoffrey showed them.
Geoffrey’s talk was supported by his son Anthony, who is Head of Clinical Informatics at the University of Melbourne and has done some very interesting digital modelling of the church and school based on his father’s material and using a safe version (we hope!) of AI Anthropic Claude.
Geoffrey followed up on this talk with a conducted tour of the church on Saturday 26th September 2026.
- Kinniel – This Princely Seat
Amongst the finest Seats in Britain – Kinneil around 1700
Presented by Ian Shearer
Thursday 23rd April at 7:30 pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
Ian Shearer Ian painted a rich impression of Kinneil House and Estate around the end of the 17th century, when they were perhaps at their grandest and most opulent and the Dukes of Hamilton still resided there from time to time. As well as that family’s leading role in West Lothian and national history, Kinneil featured the work of some of the finest artists, architects and landscape designers of the day. It truly was among the country’s most gracious mansions.
- Survivors’ Guide to 16th Century Battle
Jon Cooper
Thursday 19th March at 7:30pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
Jon Cooper Earlier in the series, we had a history lesson about the lead up to the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge, with all the characters and episodes that could make a great six-part Netflix series… but what was it like to live through the years of conflict in the early 16th Century, both at home as a civilian onlooker or as a soldier in the ranks of the opposing armies?
Dr Jon Cooper took us through the basic guide to survival in a world of chaos and battle across Scotland and Europe. He discussed the process of enlistment, the type of warfare you would be expected to participate in, the enemy you may be asked to confront and the consequences of surviving the conflict … or not.
It is a gruesome subject, but only when you understand the nature of warfare can you really appreciate what played out along the banks of the River Avon in September 1526.
- The Gazeteer of Scotland
Bruce Gittings
Thursday 19th February at 7:30pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
Bruce Gittings Bruce presented the Gazetteer for Scotland, an interactive website with a vast underlying database, featuring details of towns, villages, bens and glens from the Scottish Borders to the Northern Isles.
The first comprehensive gazetteer produced for Scotland since 1885, it includes tourist attractions, industries and historical sites, together with histories of family names and clans, biographies of famous Scots and descriptions of historical events associated with Scotland.
The network of connections between all of these entries make this gazetteer unique. The project began in 1995 and has since grown to more than 100,000 web pages, the equivalent of around 30 novels!
Bruce is a Senior Lecturer in Geographical Information at the University of Edinburgh. His day job involves teaching on a Masters programme in GIS (computer geographical data analysis and map making). He is also Chair of the Association for Geographic Information in Scotland and a former Vice Chair of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
- Bo’ness Hill Climb
Kenny Baird
Thursday 22nd January at 7:30pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JA
Bo’ness Hill Climb opened in 1934 – the first purpose-built motorsport venue in Scotland and the third oldest in the UK. The first-ever British Championship event was held at Bo’ness in 1947, and the Championship continued to be held there until the track closed in 1966.
Many famous drivers competed at Bo’ness, including World Champions Jim Clark and Sir Jackie Stewart. In its heyday, the venue attracted huge crowds of over 20,000 spectators, and was featured live on television and radio.
Kenny Baird has long been involved with motorsport: as a competitor and as an organiser/official. In 2007, he wrote a book about the Bo’ness Hill Climb, which helped to spark its revival. Kenny helped to organise the first recent event in 2008 and has been involved at many events there since then.
- The Heritage of Linlithgow + Greenland
Ron Smith Ronald P A Smith
Thursday 20th November at 7:30pm
Queen Margaret Hall, 53 Blackness Road, Linlithgow EH49 7JARon Smith gave a talk on his new book: “The Heritage of Linlithgow in 100 Buildings and Places” followed by a video from his recent trip to Greenland.
The book is a completely new edition of ‘Linlithgow: Architecture & History of a Scottish Royal Burgh’. Ron will present the completely re-formatted and extended book, which matches recent Civic Trust publications, and has included many new features of the town, and the history of several local facilities, such as schools and sports clubs, not previously covered. <More>
You will be amazed at the spectacular vistas of the eastern part of Greenland. Ron visited Greenland in September 2025 and has published a Photobook that is well worth viewing!
