Kirknewton ( sco, Kirknewtoun, gd, Eaglais a' Bhaile Ùir)
is a village formerly in the county of
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
and, since 1975, in
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
, Scotland. The population of the
Kirknewton Community Council district is 2200, which includes the village and surrounding areas. It lies south of the
A71 from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
to
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
, and north of the
A70, the high-level road that runs along the north side of the
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills southwest of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around in length, and runs southwest from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.
Etymology
The name is first recorded for the farm of Pentlan ...
from Edinburgh to
Carnwath
Carnwath (Gaelic: ''A' Chathair Nuadh''; English: "New Fort") is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is bounded by the Nort ...
and
Lanark
Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...
. Much of the village stands back from the B7031, which links the two main "A" roads. To the south-east of the village is
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...
.
History
The earliest signs of settlement in the area are the remains of
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
forts on Kaimes Hill and
Dalmahoy
Dalmahoy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dail MoThua'') is a hotel and former country house near Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located off the A71 road, south of Ratho. The house is protected as a category A listed building,
History
The estate was the proper ...
Hill, craggy summits about a mile east of Kirknewton. In slightly more recent times, Kirknewton House, which lies just to the south of the village, had its origins (as Meadowbank House) in the 17th century. The current house is a reworking of the original by the architect
William Playfair
William Playfair (22 September 1759 – 11 February 1823), a Scottish engineer and political economist, served as a secret agent on behalf of Great Britain during its war with France. The founder of graphical methods of statistics, Playfai ...
for
Alexander Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank
The Right Honourable Alexander Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank of Garvock and Pitliver FRSE FSA (Scot) (2 March 1777–30 November 1861), was a Scottish advocate, judge, landowner and politician. After 1854 he took the surname Maconochie-Welwood.
Li ...
in 1835. Kirknewton House is screened by trees from nearby roads and from the village itself. The most obvious evidence of its existence is the entrance lodge beside the start of the drive to the house at the south end of the village.
Ormiston House is a Scottish baronial mansion south of Kirknewton. It was built in 1851 for
Archibald Wilkie, to a design by
David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect.
Life
Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...
.
Kirknewton stood at the south eastern corner of the large area of West Lothian which was transformed from the 1860s by the
oil shale
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...
industry, with the nearest shale mine lying just to the north west of the village, between it and
East Calder
East Calder is a village located in West Lothian, Scotland, about a mile east of Mid Calder and a mile west of Wilkieston. It forms part of 'the Calders (together with Mid and West Calder), three small neighbouring communities situated west of ...
. Shale from here was taken to the huge oil shale works at
Pumpherston
Pumpherston is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Originally a small industrial village housing works for the nearby shale mine and works, it now forms the eastern part of the new town of Livingston, which was constructed to the west of Pumphe ...
for processing.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
built a military airfield at Whitemoss, a mile south east of Kirknewton.
RAF Kirknewton
Royal Air Force Kirknewton, otherwise known as RAF Kirknewton, is a Royal Air Force station at Whitemoss, a mile south east of Kirknewton, West Lothian, Scotland. It is retained by the Ministry of Defence, as Kirknewton Airfield and is home to 66 ...
, as it was known, was home to a variety of units during the war and, like many other military airfields, fell quiet afterwards. In 1952 it became home to a number of small
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
units tasked with providing mobile radio facilities to the USAF in Britain. The USAF left in 1966, and today Kirknewton airfield is home to a
RAF(V) Gliding Unit, 661 (RAF Kirknewton) VGS.
Education
Kirknewton Primary School was built in 1924 and comprises a nursery and 7 primary classes. The school is located in the west of the village on Station Road.
The village
Kirknewton's Main Street has a very enclosed feel. Stretching from the junction with the B7031 to the old kirkyard in the centre of the village, it consists of a collection of one and two storey buildings.
At the west end of the village is
Kirknewton railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Kirknewton.jpg
, caption = diesel train at Kirknewton
, borough = Kirknewton, West Lothian
, country = Scotland
, coord ...
, officially known as Midcalder Railway Station until 1982. Where the B7031 crosses the railway line at the west end of the station is a
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
.
One accident involving a motor vehicle led to a death and another involving a pedestrian had tragic consequences but the victim did survive. In 2013 the 35-year-old crossing was replaced with double-double barriers. Together with a LIDAR system to ensure trains could not proceed with anything on the crossing, this removed the possibility of previous accidents. While delays to traffic occur, this new system was planned to be substituted for a pedestrian and road-tunnel design which would have cost up to £18 million, critically damaged local farm land and required significant dynamite blasting close to a number of homes along the road to the West of the crossing. As of 2020 there is still a level crossing in place, wit no plans to construct a tunnel.
The village is served by
Lothian Country
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...
's bus route X28 connecting
Bathgate
Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...
via
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
and Regent Road, Edinburgh.
Kirknewton Parish Church
A parish church existed in 1571 under the control of the Presbytery of Edinburgh and was annexed to
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
in 1591.
The current parish church dates from 1751 when the parish was afforded a degree of autonomy. It was remodelled in the Gothic style in 1872 by Brown & Wardrop.
[Buildings of Lothian: Colin McWilliam 1978] The manse retains its 1750 architecture.
The kirkyard, which is separate from the church, is home to a number of headstones dating back to the 18th century, and a burial enclosure for the Campbell Maconachies of Meadowbank House that dates back to 1662.
The other burial enclosure was constructed by the Royal Society of Physicians as a memorial for an important founding member, William Cullen (d.1790). Professor Cullen was a significant figure in 18th century medicine, chemistry, agriculture and practised the application of science to agriculture at a nearby farm.
Notable Ministers
*
Rev Alexander Bryce polymath
*Very Rev
Alexander Lockhart Simpson Moderator in 1849
References
External links
kirnewton.org*http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/downloaddoc/1799471/schoolhandbooks/KirknewtonPSHandbook
{{authority control
Villages in West Lothian
Parishes formerly in Midlothian