Laurieston is a village in the
Falkirk council area
Falkirk (; sco, Fawkirk; gd, An Eaglais Bhreac) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one ...
in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It is east
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, south-west of
Grangemouth
Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...
and west of
Polmont
Polmont ( gd, Poll-Mhonadh) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village.
Due to its situation in Central Scotland, m ...
.
Laurieston is located on the
A803 road
The A803 is a road in central Scotland. It runs from Glasgow to Champany Corner, due north-east of Linlithgow).
Route
Beginning at Townhead in central Glasgow as part of a feeder system for the M8 motorway, forming part of the interchange at ...
between
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and
Polmont
Polmont ( gd, Poll-Mhonadh) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village.
Due to its situation in Central Scotland, m ...
. At the time of the
2001 census, Laurieston had a population of 2,752 residents,
[Insight 2001 Census, No. 3 – 2001 Census population of wards and settlements](_blank)
www.falkirk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-09 down from 3,000 in 1991 and 3,300 in 1971.
The course of the
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
runs through the village with the largest
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
on the wall located at
Mumrills.
History
Laurieston was a planned village. Before Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier, started feuing the lands of Langton in 1756, there was just a scatter of cottages and farmhouses. This new settlement was called New Merchiston after the Napier family seat. It was then renamed Lawrencetown in 1765 after Napier sold the project to Sir Lawrence Dundas, becoming known as Laurieston within a few years. Situated on the main street is Hawthorn Cottage, a nineteenth-century stone dwelling that was once owned by
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedes, Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel ...
, inventor of dynamite and creator of the Nobel Prizes after his death. Nobel lived there while managing an explosives factory near the nearby villages of
Redding and
Westquarter
Westquarter is a village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is west of Polmont and south-east of the town of Falkirk.
Westquarter can be accessed from the north via the A803 road
The A803 is a road in central Scotland. It ...
.
Mumrills Fort, the largest Roman Fort on the
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
, was situated to the east while the path of the
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
runs through the village. The course of the wall runs roughly along Grahamsdyke Street, which is named after the wall's medieval name "Gryme's Dyke".
Notable people
*
John McAleese
John Thomas "Mac" McAleese, MM (25 April 1949 – 26 August 2011) was a British soldier who took part in several late 20th century conflicts with the British Army's Royal Engineers and the Special Air Service, which is now within the umbrella o ...
(1949–2011), British Army soldier, spent his childhood and youth in Laurieston.
See also
*
Falkirk Braes villages
*
List of places in Falkirk council area
''Map of places in Falkirk council area compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties.
The article is a list of links for any town, village, hamlet, castle, golf course, historic house, hillfort, lightho ...
References
External links
The Official Website of the Nobel Prize
Villages in Falkirk (council area)
{{Falkirk-geo-stub