Howden, Livingston

Howden is an area of the new town of Livingston, the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. Howden is bordered by Craigshill (to the east), Ladywell (to the north), Almondvale (to the south) and Kirkton (to the west).

The area takes its name after Howden House, a former historic country house dating back to the 1770s (it was previously known as Over Howden).^[1][2] The house passed from private ownership to then being used as Department of Agriculture testing station in the early 20th century until 1962, when it was then renovated in 1964 using a £64,000 donation from the Carnegie UK Trust, subsequently becoming Livingston's first community centre and the site for the early the board meetings of the Livingston Development Corporation.^[3] The house then fell to dereliction in the late 20th century but was restored and converted into 4 small flats and 1 large townhouse during 2012/2013.^[4] The adjacent stable block had previously been converted into Howden Park Centre, an arts and entertainment venue adjoining Howden park, a large open green space.^[1] The Howden area was developed as part of the initial developments of the new town plan in the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[5]

St John's Hospital, the main hospital serving Livingston and West Lothian, is located on the west edge of Howden.^[6]