Linlithgow

This article is about the town. For the Scottish Parliament constituency, see Linlithgow (Scottish Parliament constituency). For the UK Parliament constituency, see Linlithgow (UK Parliament constituency).

Linlithgow Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Iucha Scots: Lithgae
Linlithgow from Linlithgow Palace
Population	14,000
OS grid reference	NS996774
Council area	West Lothian
Lieutenancy area	West Lothian
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LINLITHGOW
Postcode district	EH49
Dialling code	01506
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Scottish Parliament	Linlithgow Lothians

Linlithgow (/lɪnˈlɪθɡoʊ/; Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Iucha, Scots Lithgae) is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal.

The town's coat of arms shows a black dog, chained to an oak tree, which grows on an island. Linlithgow's patron saint is Saint Michael and its motto is St. Michael is kinde to straingers.

BAWS

History

The chief historic attraction of Linlithgow is the remains of Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots, and probably Scotland's finest surviving late medieval secular building. The present Palace was started (on an older site) in 1424 by James I of Scotland. It was burnt in 1746, and, whilst unroofed, it is still largely complete in terms of its apartments (though very few of the original furnishings survived).

Linlithgow Palace from the public park surrounding it, known as The Peel

Linlithgow was also the site of the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge at the western edge of the town. The bridge no longer stands today. The roadway to Linlithgow over the River Avon is described by scholars as a lifted road.

Apart from the Palace, a second attraction, standing adjacent, is 15th century St. Michael's Church, the most complete surviving example of a large late medieval 'burgh kirk' in Scotland. Its western tower originally had a distinctive stone crown spire, of the type seen also on St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, or Newcastle Cathedral, which was removed in the early 19th century. In 1964 a replacement, and at the time controversial, spire in aluminium in a modern style by the prominent Scots architect Sir Basil Spence, representing Christ's crown of thorns, was added.

Many historic buildings line the High Street. On the south side ground levels rise and several historic "wynds" and "closes" as found in Edinburgh still exist. The most prominent space is on axis with the road to the Palace. This contains the Cross Well of 1807 which proclaims itself to be a replica of its 1628 predecessor. To its north stands the Town House of 1668 by the master mason John Smith. This replaced a previous hall demolished by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650. Much of its original interior was removed in a modernisation project of 1962. The High Street is particularly noted for its high number of ancient taverns.

James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh carried out the first assassination with a firearm, when he shot James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, the Regent of Scotland, on 11 January 1570 in Linlithgow.

Coat of Arms

Linlithgow's Black Bitch

The town's coat of arms features a black bitch against an oak tree, and townsfolk are known as "black bitches". In his account of a tour of Scotland, published in 1679, an English gentleman, Thomas Kirk, described the arms of the town as "a black bitch tied to a tree, in a floating island. We enquired for a story about it, but could meet with none: their schoolmaster told us it proceeded from the name of the place. Linlithgow, in Erst [ Scottish Gaelic ], is thus explained: Lin signifies Lough; Lith, black; and Gow, a hound."

A more recently recorded legend relates that the bitch was a black greyhound whose master was sentenced to starve to death on an island in Linlithgow loch. She used to swim from the town every day with food for him. When this was discovered she was chained to a tree on a different island to suffer the same fate as her master. The townspeople took the animal's loyalty and bravery as symbolic of their own. The local pub named "The Black Bitch" is reputed to be one of Scotland's oldest pubs.

Development

The south side of the High Street was spared the demolition inflicted upon the north side in the 1960s.

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 perceived quality of its schooling. Its size grew considerably during the 1990s with the completion of several housing developments on the east side of the town. Though there is little scope for the town to grow further (as it is now bounded by green belt to the south and east, the M9 to the north, the river Avon and county boundary to the West and with the east side of the town having limited access to the M9) a planning application by Wallace Land for its proposals for a residential and retail development at Burghmuir was submitted in early February 2012 . The town also now suffers from parking problems with the local schools running to full capacity due to the massive increase in population over the last ten years.

Linlithgow is also home to a major computing centre owned by Oracle. Former industries include the St. Magdalene's distillery, the Nobel explosives works, paper mills and many tanneries.

Geography

Linlithgow Canal Basin

The town has a generally east-west orientation and is centred on what used to be the main Edinburgh-Stirling road; this now forms the main thoroughfare called the High Street. Plots of farmed land, known as rigs, ran perpendicular to the High Street and comprised much of the town's development until the 19th century. Growth was restricted to the north by Linlithgow Loch, and by the steep hill to the south, but, in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, development began to take place much further south of the High Street. In the late 20th century, demand for housing saw many residential developments take place much further south, as well as spreading into new areas. This southward 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 as there are only three places where each 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.

Politics

In Westminster, Linlithgow has long been a Labour stronghold, with the SNP regularly finishing in second place. The town of Linlithgow is currently represented by Michael Connarty, who has been an MP since 1992, but has only represented Linlithgow since 2005 when major boundary changes redrew the constituency of the long-serving member Tam Dalyell, who retired on that occasion after over 40 years in parliament.

In Holyrood, Linlithgow is a Labour-SNP marginal as of the 2011 elections. The town is currently represented by the SNP's Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish Culture Secretary, who defeated the Labour incumbent Mary Mulligan by 12 percentage points. It is part of the Lothian electoral region, which in 2011 elected 3 Labour, 2 Conservative, 1 Green and 1 Independent MSP.

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, made relatively easy by the town's railway station and proximity to both the M8 & M9 motorways.

The town is served by three supermarkets and a retail park situated in Linlithgow Bridge 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. There are controversial proposals for a new retail development to the east of the town. These are being opposed by a local lobby group.

Linlithgow is of sufficient size that facilities for most common participitation sports can be found in or around the town.

Linlithgow Rose Community Football Club (formed from a partnership of Linlithgow Rose Football Club and BFC Linlithgow )has a membership base of approximately 500 players involved through soccer 4's, soccer 7's, girls, youth and adult amateur football. The Club has a dedicated goalkeeping school and referee training program and has been awarded Community Level status in both the SFA Quality Mark and West Lothian Council Club Accreditaion schemes.

Linlithgow is also host to Linlithgow Rose Football Club, Linlithgow Thistle AFC and Linlithgow Rugby Football Club as well as West Lothian County Cricket Association

Linlithgow also hosts two main Scotland Supporters Clubs for the Scottish National football team, they are named Linlithgow & District Tartan Army and (LADTA) and the Young Linlithgow Tartan Army (YLTA). Both of which are registered Scotland Supporters 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 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.

Donaldson's College - Scotland's national school for the deaf - relocated from Edinburgh to a new building in Linlithgow in 2008.

The Riding of the Marches, 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, 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) [1], Lithca Lore, The Linlithgow Players [2] and The 41 Club. The town also has its own weekly local newspaper, the Linlithgow Gazette.

The Linlithgow Union Canal Society run a canal museum and operate narrowboat tours from Manse Road basin.

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, including a Methodist chapel (now an evangelical church, St. Johns, which meets in Linlithgow Academy on a Sunday morning), an architecturally distinctive Scottish Episcopal church, and a Roman Catholic church, also called St Michael's, which was used as an ambulance depot by Polish servicemen during the second world war.

Notable people

King James V was born in Linlithgow Palace.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was born and christened in Linlithgow.

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was assassinated in the town in 1570.

A monument on the ridge 2 km north of the town commemorates the Hon. Adrian Hope, killed in the Indian Mutiny in 1858, ancestor of the current Adrian Hope, 4th Marquess of Linlithgow

Linlithgow was the childhood home of the current First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond.

In September 2007, a plaque and exhibition commemorating the fictional Star Trek character Scotty, the Enterprise's chief engineer, who will be born in Linlithgow in 2222.

Twin towns

Linlithgow is twinned with the French town Guyancourt and, as part of West Lothian, with Grapevine, Texas in the USA.

See also

• Forth to Firth Canal Pathway

External links

• Linlithgow town portal
• About Scotland, Linlithgow Palace
• Gazetteer for Scotland
• Economic History of Linlithgow
• Annet House Museum
• St John's Church
• Linlithgow Amateur Musical Productions, LAMP
• St Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Linlithgow
• Linlithgow Taxi
• Linlithgow Athletic Club