Whitburn, West Lothian
Encyclopedia
Whitburn is a small town in West Lothian
, Scotland
located halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities being about 23 miles (37 km) east of Glasgow
and 23 miles (37 km) west of Edinburgh
. The nearest major towns are Bathgate
, 4 miles (6.4 km) and Livingston
, 8 miles (12.9 km)
The town was once dominated by Polkemmet Colliery
– a large coal mine – but this was closed as a result of damage by underground flooding during the 1984-85 miners' strike and never re-opened. The colliery buildings have gone and the coal bings that once were so prominent have now been removed. Work to dismantle Bing No 3, the infamous burning bing, started in August 2006 and was completed by February 2008. The last major outbreak of burning occurred in 1998.
The town's population was boosted by the 1960s Glasgow overflow. The town's Murraysgate and surrounding areas northwest of the cross were established to deal with the overflow.
is Whitburn Academy
. It is a co-educational
comprehensive school
serving pupils aged 11 to 18. Its catchment area is the town of Whitburn and the surrounding villages of Fauldhouse
, Longridge, East Whitburn
, Stoneyburn
, and Greenrigg. There are approximately 1,000 pupils at the school.
The town's primary schools include Whitdale, Polkemmet, Croftmalloch, St Joseph's and Burnhouse.
which was opened in 1955 by Queen Elizabeth II.
Whitburn recently had two major fires less than three weeks apart, destroying the Whitburn Miners Welfare and Whitburn Swimming Pool (owned by West Lothian Leisure). More information on both fires is not yet available.
Whitburn is home to Whitburn Junior F.C. who play at Central Park and are in the SJFA East Region Super League. In 2000 they won the OVD Scottish Juniors Cup.
Whitburn Martial Arts Centre opened in 2009, though ran as West Lothian Taekwon-Do since 2004. They ran free Taekwon-Do keep fit classes at Polkemmet, Croftmalloch, St. Joseph's and St John the Baptist's Primary Schools in Whitburn from 2004 to 2008. The Centre funds many students to compete at National Championships and has many Scottish and British Champions.
The town holds its annual gala day on the fourth Saturday in June, and sees a parade take part through the town, followed by games and races at King George V Park. The gala day is part of a week of activities known as the "Civic Week", the Civic week also attracts a fairground and fireworks display which is based just on the edge of King George V Park.
Polkemmet Country Park
is located to the west of the town, and incorporates woodland, a golf course, cafe, and play area. The park is also locally famous for the Polkemmet Horn which can be seen from the M8 motorway which runs to the north of the country park. There is also a disused steam locomotive from Polkemmet Colliery on display.
, the clothing manufacturer. The plant opened in 1969 with a large work force, employing over 500 local people. At its height, the plant was producing 4 million pairs of jeans in a year. The plant shut its doors in December 1999.
The town has been given the go-ahead for a 500 million pound project called "Heartlands". This has included the removal of 1.4 million tonnes of shallow coal reserves by opencast methods and the regeneration of 600 hectares of derelict ground, to the south-west and west of the town. It will also include land at Cowhill, next to the M8 motorway, where a new junction and business park is planned. A roundabout and spur road have been built at the west of the town to allow access for the construction of the new junction and business park. This new roundabout replaces a dangerous pair of sliproads on the B7066. The project will provide 4000 new jobs, 2000 new homes (with the land available for more), 2 championship golf courses, a 5 star, 150 bedroom, luxury golf lodge and hotel and a 350 car park and ride facility.
There are many main street stores like The Co-operative Food
, previously Somerfield
, John Livingstone and Sons butchers and A & C Fisher's bakery.
formed in 1870. The band has been successful on the contest stage and competes at the British Open, National Final and European Championships, and has been Scottish Champion on 15 occasions. The band maintains strong links with the local community of Whitburn by offering concerts throughout the year and participation in civic activities. Whitburn Band retained its Scottish Open Championship title in November 2007 as well as again being crowned Scottish Band of the Year. The band is now the 2008 Scottish Champion and is ranked 7th in the World of Brass / British Bandsman /4barsrest World Rankings.
Whitburn Flute Band were formed in 1962 and are based in Whitburn. The band has previously won the Best Overseas Band award in Belfast two years running in 2002 and 2003.
The Young Conquerors Flute Band is also based in Whitburn. They reformed in 2008.
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
located halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities being about 23 miles (37 km) east of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and 23 miles (37 km) west of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The nearest major towns are Bathgate
Bathgate
Bathgate is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the M8 motorway west of Livingston. Nearby towns are Blackburn, Armadale, Whitburn, Livingston, and Linlithgow. Edinburgh Airport is away...
, 4 miles (6.4 km) and Livingston
Livingston, Scotland
Livingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
, 8 miles (12.9 km)
The town was once dominated by Polkemmet Colliery
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
– a large coal mine – but this was closed as a result of damage by underground flooding during the 1984-85 miners' strike and never re-opened. The colliery buildings have gone and the coal bings that once were so prominent have now been removed. Work to dismantle Bing No 3, the infamous burning bing, started in August 2006 and was completed by February 2008. The last major outbreak of burning occurred in 1998.
The town's population was boosted by the 1960s Glasgow overflow. The town's Murraysgate and surrounding areas northwest of the cross were established to deal with the overflow.
Schools
The local secondary schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
is Whitburn Academy
Whitburn Academy
Whitburn Academy is a secondary school in Whitburn, West Lothian-Headteacher and SMT:The Headteacher is Mr Ian Adair. He is assisted by his Depute Headteachers Lynne McEwen, Alison McLean and Business Manager David Foggo....
. It is a co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
serving pupils aged 11 to 18. Its catchment area is the town of Whitburn and the surrounding villages of Fauldhouse
Fauldhouse
Fauldhouse is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is about halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.-History:Fauldhouse is known since the Middle Ages, and was known until the 19th century by the names "Falas" or latterly "Fallas." The seventeenth century Dutch mapmaker Willem Blaeu features...
, Longridge, East Whitburn
East Whitburn
East Whitburn is a small village in Scottish county of West Lothian. Bordering the mining town of Whitburn, East Whitburn has grown significantly in the past few years due to developments of large houses....
, Stoneyburn
Stoneyburn
Stoneyburn is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Nearby towns include Bathgate, Whitburn, Addiewell and Blackburn.- Geography :Stoneyburn is situated in the middle of central Scotland, some 4 miles from Bathgate in the north and 5 from Livingston in the east...
, and Greenrigg. There are approximately 1,000 pupils at the school.
The town's primary schools include Whitdale, Polkemmet, Croftmalloch, St Joseph's and Burnhouse.
Sport and recreation
Whitburn has a King George's Field in memorial to King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
which was opened in 1955 by Queen Elizabeth II.
Whitburn recently had two major fires less than three weeks apart, destroying the Whitburn Miners Welfare and Whitburn Swimming Pool (owned by West Lothian Leisure). More information on both fires is not yet available.
Whitburn is home to Whitburn Junior F.C. who play at Central Park and are in the SJFA East Region Super League. In 2000 they won the OVD Scottish Juniors Cup.
Whitburn Martial Arts Centre opened in 2009, though ran as West Lothian Taekwon-Do since 2004. They ran free Taekwon-Do keep fit classes at Polkemmet, Croftmalloch, St. Joseph's and St John the Baptist's Primary Schools in Whitburn from 2004 to 2008. The Centre funds many students to compete at National Championships and has many Scottish and British Champions.
The town holds its annual gala day on the fourth Saturday in June, and sees a parade take part through the town, followed by games and races at King George V Park. The gala day is part of a week of activities known as the "Civic Week", the Civic week also attracts a fairground and fireworks display which is based just on the edge of King George V Park.
Polkemmet Country Park
Polkemmet Country Park
Polkemmet Country Park is located west of the town of Whitburn in West Lothian, Scotland. It is adjacent to the M8 motorway, east of the "Heart of Scotland" services at Harthill. It was developed on the estate of Polkemmet House, a country house which was demolished in the 1960s...
is located to the west of the town, and incorporates woodland, a golf course, cafe, and play area. The park is also locally famous for the Polkemmet Horn which can be seen from the M8 motorway which runs to the north of the country park. There is also a disused steam locomotive from Polkemmet Colliery on display.
Industry
The town was once the site of Levi Strauss & Co.Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
, the clothing manufacturer. The plant opened in 1969 with a large work force, employing over 500 local people. At its height, the plant was producing 4 million pairs of jeans in a year. The plant shut its doors in December 1999.
The town has been given the go-ahead for a 500 million pound project called "Heartlands". This has included the removal of 1.4 million tonnes of shallow coal reserves by opencast methods and the regeneration of 600 hectares of derelict ground, to the south-west and west of the town. It will also include land at Cowhill, next to the M8 motorway, where a new junction and business park is planned. A roundabout and spur road have been built at the west of the town to allow access for the construction of the new junction and business park. This new roundabout replaces a dangerous pair of sliproads on the B7066. The project will provide 4000 new jobs, 2000 new homes (with the land available for more), 2 championship golf courses, a 5 star, 150 bedroom, luxury golf lodge and hotel and a 350 car park and ride facility.
There are many main street stores like The Co-operative Food
The Co-operative Food
The Co-operative Food, abbreviated sometimes to the Co-op, is a brand devised for the supermarket and convenience store business of the UK's consumers' co-operative movement. It is the name of the largest division of The Co-operative Group, and is used by other independent consumer co-operatives...
, previously Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
, John Livingstone and Sons butchers and A & C Fisher's bakery.
Whitburn Bands
Whitburn Band is a brass bandBrass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
formed in 1870. The band has been successful on the contest stage and competes at the British Open, National Final and European Championships, and has been Scottish Champion on 15 occasions. The band maintains strong links with the local community of Whitburn by offering concerts throughout the year and participation in civic activities. Whitburn Band retained its Scottish Open Championship title in November 2007 as well as again being crowned Scottish Band of the Year. The band is now the 2008 Scottish Champion and is ranked 7th in the World of Brass / British Bandsman /4barsrest World Rankings.
Whitburn Flute Band were formed in 1962 and are based in Whitburn. The band has previously won the Best Overseas Band award in Belfast two years running in 2002 and 2003.
The Young Conquerors Flute Band is also based in Whitburn. They reformed in 2008.