BATHGATE ACADEMY
Founded 1833

BATHGATE PROCESSION
Founded 1844

Welcome to the official web site of Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival.

2010 proved to be another very successful year for The Procession and the weather faired well for all.
To look back at our events and photographs for 2010, please visit our facebook pages here.

FOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CHARACTERS  - PLEASE VISIT www.bg-photo.co.uk
Brief History

Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival is an annual celebration which is known and highly-regarded
throughout central Scotland. Local people and those not so local eagerly anticipate the event, which takes
place every year on the first Saturday of June.
The event was started by the trustees of the Old Bathgate Academy in 1844 to commemorate the school’s
founding. The procession began as a Founder’s Day Parade on April 17, 1844, in remembrance of John
Newland’s contribution to the building of Bathgate Academy.
School pupils marched from The Academy that day to The High Church and the day was designated a holiday
for the town by Newland Trustees who believed the date commemorated Newland’s birthday.
And in 1849 after the service in the parish church, the pupils paraded through the town and began
the tradition of a parade.