Winchburgh

Winchburgh is a village in the Council area of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of the city-centre of Edinburgh, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Linlithgow and 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Broxburn.

Winchburgh

Winchburgh, viewed from the south
Winchburgh
Location within West Lothian
Population3,040 (mid-2016 est.)[1]
OS grid referenceNT086750
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBROXBURN
Postcode districtEH52
Dialling code01506
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

History

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

After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Sir James Douglas followed King Edward II and the remnants of his army to Winchburgh. Both sides rested at Winchburgh before riding on to Dunbar, where King Edward took ship for England.

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

Auldcathie is an historic parish and ruined pre-reformation church that lies on the western edge of Winchburgh.[2]

In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Loch Leven Castle, and was met by Lord Seton, before crossing the Firth of Forth from South Queensferry. Mary stayed at Niddry Castle, Seton's property in Winchburgh, on 2 May 1568.

The Niddry Bing at Winchburgh; one of several large shale bings in West Lothian.

In the 19th century, Winchburgh had a thriving oil shale mining industry, the remnants of which are the distinctive red "shale bings", large hill forms, created by the deposition composed of used shale. The bings support a variety of flora and fauna, such as bushes and heather, rabbits and, occasionally, old deer. The bings are also known locally as "tips", although it is a generally less common name for them.

On 13 October 1862 on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway a mile and a half northwest of Winchburgh was the scene of a head-on rail crash in which 15 people were killed.[3]

Main article: Winchburgh rail crash

In the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1892–1896), Winchburgh is described:

Winchburgh, a village in Kirkliston Parish, Linlithgowshire, 11¾ 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. Pop. (1881) 115, (1891) 424.[4]

The early 21st century has seen the construction of several new private housing estates on the periphery of the village towards Auldcathie.

Population

The 2001 census recorded around 2,000.[5]

Public transport

There are regular scheduled buses to and from surrounding places including Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Falkirk, South Queensferry and Broxburn.

There are 2 main bus routes in the area. The first following Route number 38 travels to and from Edinburgh via Winchburgh serving the 3 main areas of Linlithgow, Falkirk and Stirling along with various others in between. The 2nd is the route 600 which travels to and from Edinburgh airport via Winchburgh serving Broxburn, Livingston and onwards to Whitburn.

Previous routes have included some of the following: 22A which travelled to and from South Queensferry and Livingston via Winchburgh and 651 travelling to Dunfermline from Livingston going via Winchburgh.

The mainline railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street goes through the Winchburgh Tunnel, under the village. Until it was closed in 1930, there was a passenger station at the north end of the tunnel. The construction of the Winchburgh Tunnel was supervised by the noted Scottish Civil Engineer, John Gibb. West Lothian Council have been promoting a plan to reopen the station by 2018.[6]

Sport

Niddrie Castle Golf Club has an 18-hole, 5914 yards long, par 70 golf course, located in and around the grounds of the historic Niddry Castle. The club was established in 1926.

Winchburgh Bowling Club was established in 1913 by local miners and the clubhouse has a 150-capacity function room for social occasions, such as weddings.

In July 2007, parents from local schools formed a boys' football team, taking the name of the former Winchburgh Albion, which had folded in the 1970s. The club now has a team playing in the West Lothian Association of Youth Football Clubs league.

The original Winchburgh Albion FC had produced several senior football players, including Willie Thornton who had a long career with Rangers as player and later, assistant manager, after managing Dundee and Partick Thistle. John Gorman is another former Winchburgh player; he started his senior career with Celtic, before going on have playing success with Carlisle, Tottenham Hotspur and as a coach with several clubs, including his present role at MK Dons. He was also assistant manager of the England international team from 1996 to 1999, under the management of Glenn Hoddle.

Amenities

There are a number of amenities in the town of Winchburgh including  a grocery store, several takeaway food shops, several convenience stores, butcher shop and deli, pharmacy, doctor's surgery, post office, community centre. The Tally Ho pub and beer garden, a bowling club and there are also several places of worship in the town.

Housing Includes 19th century miner’s cottages, council housing built in the 1950’s, several new housing developments, sheltered housing and a care home for the elderly.

Bell's Mill Wharf, base of 19-40 Union Canal Society

Winchburgh and the Union Canal

The Union Canal passes through Winchburgh.

The canal no longer operates as a transport link, but is now used for fishing, magnet fishing and some leisure boating. It has a towpath previously used by the horses which drew canal bargess and which is now used as a footpath, the foot paths are popular places for dog walkers, bikers, runners and walkers

The Bridge 19-40 Canal Society ( a non-profit) has a base at Winchburgh on the canal, and it operates seasonal boat trips departing from Port Buchan located in neighbouring Broxburn on West Main Street.

Schooling

The village has two primary schools and a nursery located in Winchburgh. The 'Holy Family Primary' school serves Roman Catholic (term) pre-secondary school children, whereas 'Winchburgh Primary' is a non-denominational school. Both of these are state run schools, and share the same building (the Holy Family Primary School's original building was demolished). Secondary School aged children mostly attend schools in neighbouring Linlithgow, Livingston, Queensferry and Broxburn. However, there are proposals to build a high school in Winchburgh to alleviate overcrowding in Linlithgow Academy.

See also

References
  1. "Mid-2016 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. Historic Environment Scotland. "Auldcathie Church (49172)". Canmore. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. "Accident at Winchburgh on 13th October 1862 :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk.
  4. Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. 1892–1896. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  5. "Village of the Future". Retrieved 28 August 2010. The existing Winchburgh village had a population of around 2,500 at the time of the last census in 2001.
  6. https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/8403/Winchburgh-Rail-Station
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