WINCHBURGH

'Winchburgh' is a small village situated within the geographical county of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately 10 miles west of the city-centre of Edinburgh, 6 miles east of Linlithgow and 3 miles northeast of Broxburn.

Contents

Population

Public Transport

Sport

Amenities

Housing

Winchburgh and the Union Canal

Schooling in Winchburgh

History

Notable Dates

Articles

External links

Population

In 2005, the Scottish National Census recorded 2562 people being resident in Winchburgh. [1].

Public Transport

Transport links are frequent and served by chartered buses to surrounding places including : Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Falkirk, South Queensferry and Broxburn.

Sport

The Village features an impressive golf course, which is located in and around the grounds of the picturesque and historic Niddry Castle Although commonly known as 'Winchburgh Castle'. There is also a Bowling Club which features a bar for social occasions, such as weddings. The bowling club is usually open to all.

Amenities

A small range of convenience store sized shops trade in Winchburgh. The village is also home to a pharmacy, a doctor's surgery, and a number of public houses (pubs) and take-away food restaurants, as well as a Community Centre.

Housing

Housing ranges from old fashioned brick type cottages (purposely built to house miners & their families in the late 1800s) to regular-type council rented houses, cottages and flats. Sheltered Housing also exists within to meet the housing needs of elderly residents, as well as an elderly care home situated within the village.

Winchburgh and the Union Canal

The Edinburgh - Glasgow Union Canal passes through Winchburgh to Broxburn ( in the Edinburgh direction ) and onwards through neighbouring Linlithgow, in the Glasgow direction. The Forth and Clyde Canal was originally used in bygone days, (mainly during the industrial revolution) to transport shale oil to and from the long time closed shale mines located on the perimeter of Winchburgh. It was also used to transport goods between places situated in and between Edinburgh and Glasgow, hence the name Forth-Clyde Canal. Boat trips are seasonal and depart from the Union Canal bridge located in neighbouring Broxburn on West Main Street.

Schooling in Winchburgh

There are two Primary Schools and a Nursery located in Winchburgh. The 'Holy Family Primary' school serves Catholic pre-secondary school children, whereas 'Winchburgh Primary' is a non-denominal school. Both of these are state owned/ran schools. Secondary School aged children mostly attend schools in neighbouring Linlithgow and Livingston.

History

There has been a settlement in Winchburgh for over a thousand years.
Early spellings include Wincelburgh (1189); Wynchburghe (1377); from 'wincel' and 'burh' meaning 'Town in the nook or angle'. Its possible it was named after the bend in the Niddry burn that runs through the village. The early settlement was probably near to Niddry Castle.

Notable Dates

Some important dates in Winchburgh history:
1314 After the Battle of Bannockburn, Lord Douglas followed King Edward and the remnants of his army to Winchburgh. Both sides rested at Winchburgh before riding on to Dunbar where King Edward took a boat.
"Quhill that the king and his menye
To Wenchburg all cummyn ar.
Than lychtyt all that thai war
To bayt thar hors that wer wery,
And Douglas and his cumpany
Baytyt alsua besid thaim ner."
Extract from The Brus by John Barbour (1320-1395) BOOK 13 written c 1375
1568 After escaping from Lochleven Island, Mary Queen of Scots was met by Lord Seton and crossed the Firth of Forth at Queensferry. She stayed at Niddry Castle in Winchburgh on May 2nd 1568 before moving on to Craignethan Castle and Cadzow Castle in Lanarkshire.
In its heyday, Winchburgh had a thriving shale mine industry.

Articles

From the Gazetteer of Scotland c.1895 :
"Winchburgh, a village in Kirkliston Parish, Linlithgowshire, 113/4 miles W of Edinburgh. It has a station on the North British railway, a Post Office with money order and savings bank departments, an Established mission church (opened 1891) and a public school. Population (1881) 115, (1891) 424."

External links

★ [2] -A selection of Images from Winchburgh-Linlithgow on the Forth-Clyde canal.