Linlithgow

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For the constituencies, see Linlithgow (Scottish Parliament constituency) or Linlithgow (UK Parliament constituency).

Linlithgow
Gleann Iucha (Gaelic)
Lithgae (Scots)


OS grid reference:	NS996774



Population:	13,423



Council area:	West Lothian
Constituent country:	Scotland
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom

Police force:	Lothian and Borders Police
Lieutenancy area:	West Lothian
Former county:	West Lothian

Post town:	LINLITHGOW
Postal:	EH49
Telephone:	01506


Scottish Parliament:	Linlithgow Lothians
UK Parliament:	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
European Parliament:	Scotland

Linlithgow town in the background, the Loch in the mid-ground with the Palace in the foreground

Linlithgow (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Iucha, Scots Lithgae) is a town and Royal Burgh in Scotland. Those born in the burgh are sometimes nicknamed Black Bitches. The burgh's patron saint is Saint Michael and its motto is St. Michael is kind to strangers.

1 Geography
2 Facilities and Leisure
3 History
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Geography

The town was originally centred on the main Edinburgh-Stirling road which forms Linlithgow High Street and has a generally east-west orientation, with plots of farmed land, known as rigs, running perpendicular from it. Growth to the north has traditionally been restricted by Linlithgow Loch, but in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, development began to take place much further up the hill to the south of the High Street. This development was bisected by the Union Canal and latterly the main Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line, and today the limited crossings of both cause problems with modern traffic demands as there are only a three places where they can be crossed in the town.

To the west, Linlithgow Bridge used to be a somewhat distinct village with its own identity, but in the latter half of the 20th century it was enveloped in the expansion of the main town and today the distinction between them is hard to make out.

[edit] Facilities and Leisure

Linlithgow’s rich history and central location make it a popular tourist destination, while a significant proportion of the local population make the daily commute to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Stirling. Unlike many other commuter towns, however, Linlithgow enjoys a considerable amount of local facilities and has a strong sense of identity despite rapid growth in recent years.

The town is well served by three supermarkets and a somewhat controversial retail park, unusual in a town of this size, situated in Linlithgow Bridge and hosting a Homebase and an Argos Extra among its five units. However, the town continues to support a diverse range of local retailers in the High Street, something that similar towns in the area struggle to maintain.

Linlithgow is of sufficient size that facilities for most common participitation sports can be found in or around the town. Linlithgow is also host to Linlithgow Rose Football Club and Linlithgow Rugby Football Club, as well as numerous other local amateur sporting clubs.

A number of local parks, including play areas for children, are spread throughout the burgh, with the tract of land surrounding the palace known as The Peel being particularly popular in summer. Low Port Outdoor Education Centre[1] is situated next to the loch and provides facilities for many outdoor activities, many based on the adjacent loch. Nearby country parks include Beecraigs and Muiravonside.

Educational establishments within the town include Linlithgow Academy, which regularly appears close to the top of the school league tables in Scotland and is one of the main reasons for the demand for housing in Linlithgow, and five primary schools; Linlithgow Primary School, St Josephs Primary School, Linlithgow Bridge Primary School, Low Port Primary School and Springfield Primary School.

The Riding of the Marches[2], held in one form or another since the mid-16th century and nowadays celebrated on the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June, involve young and old in the tradition of checking the burgh's perimeter, including the town's historic port of Blackness. Although today's activities are centered more on the colourful parades through the town that involve bands and floats decorated by local groups, the more ceremonial duties of the Marches are still adhered to and a variety of local groups ensure that the traditions, old and new, are maintained.

There are many other events during the year such as the Children's Gala Day[3], the Linlithgow Folk Festival and a pre-Christmas Victorian Street Fayre, and the sense of community is enhanced by many active local groups such as Linlithgow Amateur Musical Productions (LAMP), Lithca Lore, The Linlithgow Players[4] and The 41 Club. The town also has its own weekly local newspaper, the Linlithgow Gazette.

The town has two Church of Scotland parish churches - St Michael's and the smaller St. Ninian's Craigmailen. There are also churches of other denominations.

[edit] History

Formerly the principal town of West Lothian, which was also known as Linlithgowshire, the town lies some 20 miles west of Edinburgh along the main railway route to Glasgow. Before the building of the motorways and the Forth Road Bridge it lay on the main north road from Edinburgh to Stirling, Perth and Inverness while the canal system linked the burgh to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The nearby village of Blackness once served as the burgh's port.

One of the historic attractions of Linlithgow is the ruin of Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. The Palace was built (on a site which had had prior buildings) starting in 1424 by James I of Scotland. It was destroyed by fire in 1746. Linlithgow was also the site of the battle of Linlithgow Bridge at the western edge of the town. Another attraction is St. Michael's Church to which a distinctive, and at the time controversial, "crown" steeple was added in 1964. Linlithgow lies on the Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal and the Linlithgow Union Canal Society[5] run a Canal Museum and operate narrowboat tours from Manse Road basin.

Two large tracts of the northern side of the High Street were demolished in the 1960s and replaced by flats and public buildings in a modernist style. Although these buildings were no doubt welcomed at the time as being a vast improvement on what must have been cramped and dilapidated traditional accommodation, they were poorly conceived and constructed and have required extensive maintenance and renovation over the years. Many locals lament the brutal effect these buildings have had on the character and appearance of the town's main thoroughfare, and indeed such a dramatic remodelling of buildings forming such a central part of the town would be unthinkable nowadays.

Today the town is especially popular with middle classes and commuters, not only because of its excellent transport links with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling, but also because of the quality of its schooling. The town has grown considerably, especially during the 1990s and there is a shortage of spaces at the local schools as well as the inevitable problems of parking. However, due to the town being bounded by green belt to the south, the M9 to the north, the river Avon and county boundary to the West and the east side of the town only having limited access to the M9, and especially because the High School is full, it is difficult to see how permission could be granted for the town to grow further, and most of the housing growth within West Lothian is likely to be in the Livingston area.

Linlithgow is also home to a major facility owned by Sun Microsystems, one of their most important factories outside the US and a major local employer. Former industries include the St. Magdalene's distillery, the Nobel explosives works, paper mills and many tanneries

Linlithgow town in the background, St. Michael's Church in the mid-ground and the Palace in the foreground

[edit] Trivia

The village of Ayrshire poet Alexander Smith's Dreamthorp (1863) is said to have been modelled on Linlithgow.
In Star Trek lore, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott was born in Linlithgow in the year 2222. Somewhat bizarrely, shortly after the passing of actor James Doohan who played Scotty, West Lothian Council announced plans to place a commemorative plaque in the town in memory of the character Scotty, but as of early 2007 these plans have not yet amounted to anything.^{[citation needed]}
The 2004 Miss Scotland, Lois Weatherup, hails from Linlithgow.