56°03′47″N 3°47′46″W / 56.063°N 3.796°W / 56.063; -3.796
38-507: Wilkieston is a small village in West Lothian , Scotland. It is located on the A71 road , 0.93 miles (1.5 km) north of Kirknewton , 1.2 miles (2 km) south-west of Ratho and 6.2 miles (10 km) east of Livingston . To the north-west of the village is Bonnington House , a 19th-century country house. To the north-east of the village are the remains of Hatton House , medieval home of
76-596: A Scottish Royalist general in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , and Sir Tam Dalyell , a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. Hopetoun House is a large country house and estate near South Queensferry that was built between 1699 and 1701, and was designed by Sir William Bruce . The house was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects. The interior
114-533: A community hospital in Linlithgow . West Lothian previously had a psychiatric hospital with general hospital in the Dechmont area called Bangour Village Hospital . The hospital opened in 1904 and eventually had beds for 55 officers and 2571 other ranks. The hospital started closing in the 1990s and closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital. The Linburn Centre
152-505: A large farm and play area. In Bathgate, the Bennie Museum is a museum of local history and heritage that is run by volunteers under the management of a charitable trust. It opened in 1989 and is housed used in two former derelict cottages donated by the Bennie family to the local community in 1980. The Linlithgow Museum is a volunteer-run local history museum in Linlithgow . The museum
190-531: A ruined palace that was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries and is the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots . It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland . The House of the Binns is an early 17th century historic house and estate near Philpstoun . The house is the historic home of the Binn family whose owners included Sir Thomas Dalyell
228-411: A separate council area, with Clackmannan district changing its name to Clackmannanshire with effect from 1 April 1996, being the day the new arrangements came in to effect. The Central Scotland Police force, created in 1975 using the same boundaries as the region, was merged into Police Scotland in 2013 with its territory forming one of the second-level divisions from that point. At the same time,
266-465: A system of Regions and Districts . West Lothian was made a district of Lothian Region but lost the burgh of Bo'ness and the district of Bo'ness to Falkirk District of Central Region , and the burgh of Queensferry and the district of Kirkliston plus part of Winchburgh to the Edinburgh district of Lothian Region. It gained East Calder and West Calder districts from Midlothian. The two-tier system
304-604: A visitor centre and a loch), Polkemmet Country Park (a 68 hectare park near Whitburn with woodlands, river walks and outdoor facilities), and Almondell and Calderwood Country Park along the Almond river valley near Mid Calder. Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located near Blackridge that has been a national nature reserve since 1980 and is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians. Public healthcare in West Lothian
342-501: Is Edinburgh Airport . Central Region, Scotland Central region ( Roinn Meadhanach in Gaelic ) was a local government region from 1975 to 1996, being one of twelve such regions across Scotland. The Regional Council's headquarters were at Viewforth in Stirling , which had been previously the headquarters of Stirlingshire County Council. Since 1996 the area has been divided into
380-491: Is Category A listed and features as the logo of West Lothian Council. West Lothian has no airport or airfields in current operation. The county has a few historic airfields, now defunct, including a temporary airfield that once existed in Bathgate. While the village of Kirknewtown is inside West Lothian, the nearby RAF Kirknewton airfield lies inside the boundary of Edinburgh. The nearest airport in operation to West Lothian
418-523: Is a military history museum in Wilkieston that covers Scottish military history from the First World War to the present day. This West Lothian location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . West Lothian West Lothian ( Scots : Wast Lowden ; Scottish Gaelic : Lodainn an Iar ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland , bordering (in a clockwise direction)
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#1732852309420456-568: Is a health centre for blinded war veterans at Wilkieston . The centre is located within the estate of Linburn House, a country house which was demolished in 1955. The Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry was created in 1990, to preserve the history of the shale industry in West Lothian and beyond. It is sited on a former mill at Millfield, near Livingston and is attached to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre,
494-468: Is a privately owned zoo located in Polbeth , West Calder opened in 2005. The zoo has grown into one of West Lothian's top visitor attractions and was awarded ‘Best Family Day Out’ at the 2024 Scottish Entertainment and Hospitality Awards. West Lothian has a diverse economy and as of 2020 had approximately 4,500 businesses providing almost 72,000 jobs in the area. In 2014, West Lothian Council reported that
532-562: Is a scheduled ancient monument and hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with extensive views. Torphichen Preceptory is a 12th-century church in the village of Torphichen . It comprises the remains of the preceptory (headquarters) of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland. Historic houses in West Lothian include Linlithgow Palace ,
570-651: Is administered by NHS Lothian within NHS Scotland . The main hospital for West Lothian is St John's Hospital in Livingston. The hospital has a dedicated Accident and Emergency department with 550 beds and opened in 1989. St Johns is a teaching hospital for the University of Edinburgh Medical School . Other public hospitals include Tippethill House Hospital a community hospital in Armadale and St Michael's Hospital ,
608-680: Is housed in the Linlithgow Partnership Centre, along with the West Lothian Family History Society and library. Military Museum Scotland is a military history museum in Wilkieston that covers Scottish military history from the First World War to the present day. The Museum of Scottish Railways is a railway museum located within the station yard of Bo'ness at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway . Five Sisters Zoo
646-579: The A71 road (which passes through the south of the county connecting settlements including Livingston, Polbeth, West Calder and Breich), the A899 and A705 in Livingston, and the A801 road which runs from east of Polmont to Whitburn. Several railway routes run through West Lothian. These include: West Lothian has a number of former, disused and defunct railway lines, principally branch lines that originated in connection with oil, mineral and shale mining activities in
684-460: The Bathgate and Linlithgow (UK Parliament constituency) Until 2024, the area included the Linlithgow and East Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency) . The West Lothian question , referring to whether Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish MPs should be allowed to vote on English laws, is so named because it was supposedly first raised by Tam Dalyell while he was MP for West Lothian. The creation of
722-506: The Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service became part of the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service . There continue to be electoral, valuation, and health boards for the area; the latter is called NHS Forth Valley . The first election to Central Regional Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. Political control of
760-447: The City of Edinburgh council area , Scottish Borders , South Lanarkshire , North Lanarkshire and Falkirk . The modern council area was formed in 1975 when the historic county of West Lothian , also known as Linlithgowshire, was reshaped substantially as part of local government reforms; some areas that had formerly been part of Midlothian were added to a new West Lothian District within
798-608: The Region of Lothian , whilst some areas in the north-west were transferred to the Falkirk District and areas in the north-east were transferred to the City of Edinburgh District. In 1996 West Lothian became a unitary authority area, using the same name and territory as in 1975. West Lothian lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in
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#1732852309420836-667: The council areas of Clackmannanshire , Falkirk and Stirling , which had previously been districts within Central region. Central region was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which established a two-tier structure of local government across mainland Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Central region covered the whole area of the county of Clackmannanshire , most of Stirlingshire and parts of Perthshire and West Lothian , which were all abolished for local government purposes at
874-476: The 19th and 20th centuries which created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as " bings ") throughout the council area. The old county town was the royal burgh of Linlithgow , but the largest town (and the second-largest town in the Lothian region after Edinburgh) is now Livingston , where West Lothian Council has been based since 2009 having previously used facilities across three sites. Other large towns in
912-560: The 19th century but were later closed as traffic diminished and industrial operations ceased. Many of the railways in West Lothian use significant viaducts to cross rivers, ravines and other difficult terrain. One prominent example is the Almond Valley Viaduct built by railway engineer John Miller to carry the Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line and completed in 1842. The viaduct is 1.5 miles long with 36 masonry arches,
950-570: The Lauder family, which was demolished in 1955. Linburn Park was a country house and estate in Wilkeston, located to the south of the village that was demolished in 1955. The estate is now home to the Linburn Centre , which is run by charity Scottish War Blinded . The centre provides assistance to adults who have been members of the armed forces and now have a visual impairment. Military Museum Scotland
988-509: The Scottish Regional Councils disbanded under the reorganisation act of 1994. 10 days later, on 11 April 1996, the school gym where the massacre took place was demolished by the new council. The school was entirely refurbished in 1998. Central region was abolished in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , which replaced regions and districts with unitary council areas . Each of Central's three districts became
1026-453: The abolition of West Lothian County Council in 1975, the new West Lothian District Council chose to use the former Burgh Chambers of Bathgate Town Council (built in 1966) as its headquarters, extending the building in 1976 and renaming it Lindsay House. The district council retained the county buildings in Linlithgow as additional office space. In November 2009, the new unitary authority , West Lothian Council, centralised its services at
1064-497: The council from 1975 was as follows: At the time of the local government reorganization of 1975, there was discussion on where the new region should be based – the options being Falkirk or Stirling, the latter of which was chosen as the county council had just finished construction of a new office building at Viewforth in the town in 1972. This Scottish location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to government in Scotland
1102-412: The county are West Lothian Council and NHS Scotland . The Starlaw distillery is a Scotch whisky grain distillery at Bathgate that is owned by French drinks group La Martiniquaise . The distillery opened in 2010 and can produce 25 million litres annually and has 29 ageing warehouses (cellars) across 75 hectares at the distillery to allow for the maturation of over 600,000 barrels. Glenmorangie ,
1140-431: The county include Bathgate (a town with medieval origins that developed extensively during the industrial revolution) and the historic mining settlements of Armadale , Fauldhouse , Whitburn , West Calder , Uphall , and Broxburn . In 1975, as a result of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , the boundaries of West Lothian were adjusted: the 1973 Act abolished the traditional counties and burghs, instead creating
1178-602: The five largest employment sectors in the council area were healthcare , construction , retail , manufacturing , and business administration and support services. While historically, mining and shale oil production were key employers in the region, as of 2014 they only accounted for 0.7% of persons employed in West Lothian. The ten largest private employers in West Lothian are Sky UK , Tesco , Mitsubishi Electric , IQVIA (formerly Quintiles/Q2 Solutions), Asda , Morrisons , Johnson & Johnson , Schuh , Jabil and Shin-Etsu Europe . The two largest public sector employers in
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1216-468: The largest indoor shopping location in Scotland and the 10th largest in the UK. There are several large scale wind farms in West Lothian, predominantly in the south-west of the county, used to produce electricity across the region, including Pates Hill wind farm , Harburnhead wind farm, and Black Law wind farm. The main trunk roads in West Lothian are: Other principal A roads in West Lothian include
1254-550: The modern council area in 1975 drastically altered West Lothian's boundaries. Significant towns not included in the modern county are the coastal burghs of Bo'ness and Queensferry and the town of Kirkliston . Large parts of the southern urban area of Livingston which were historically within Midlothian were, however, transferred to West Lothian. Largest settlements by population: 56,840 23,600 15,970 12,840 12,720 11,490 6,430 5,730 4,900 3,840 Cairnpapple Hill
1292-736: The new West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston . West Lothian is represented in the Scottish Parliament by two constituency members and seven regional members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). In the Parliament of the United Kingdom West Lothian is represented by two members of Parliament. Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Gregor Poynton represents the Livingston constituency . Kirsteen Sullivan represents
1330-449: The same time. Central region was divided into three districts, called Clackmannan , Falkirk , and Stirling . The Dunblane massacre occurred within the last month of Central Regional Council's existence at one of its primary schools, in Dunblane . Responsibility for Dunblane Primary School was transferred to the new Stirling Council on the first day of its operations on 1 April 1996 when
1368-458: The whisky distillers have offices and a bottling facility in Livingston that was opened in 2011. West Lothian has several shopping centres, the largest of which are located in Livingston, including 'The Centre' (comprising more than 1,000,000 square foot of retail space) and Livingston Designer Outlet (the largest outlet mall in Scotland). The combined retail spaces of central Livingston form
1406-471: Was abolished by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , and the district of West Lothian was made into a unitary council area named West Lothian Council . West Lothian Council is the local authority for the West Lothian area and has 33 elected members. Councillors are generally elected every five years, with the next election falling in Spring 2027. The current council composition is: Following
1444-857: Was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert Adam . Midhope Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the Hopetoun estate that was used as a location in the Outlander TV series on Starz as the main character, Jamie Fraser's family home called Lallybroch (Broch Tuarach). There are a variety of castles and other historic fortifications in West Lothian, including medieval mottes, tower houses and Renaissance laird's houses, as well as relatively modern castellated mansions. Examples include Cairns Castle , Duntarvie Castle , Midhope Castle and Staneyhill Tower . There are several public country parks in West Lothian, including Beecraigs Country Park (a 370 hectare park between Bathgate and Linlithgow with forests,
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