Whitecross is a small village within the Falkirk council area, close to the boundary of

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 ...

council in

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 lies west-southwest of Linlithgow and south-east of Polmont on the west bank of the River Avon. Until the end of World War II it was literally a handful of buildings, but expanded thereafter with a housing estate planned by Stirlingshire County Council in 1945. The United Kingdom 2001 census reported the population as 819.Insight 2001, No 3 - 2001 Census Population of settlements and wards
www.falkirk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-17 Manuel Junction, where the branch line from Bo'ness used by the

Scottish Railway Preservation Society The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The society's headquarters is at Bo'ness, in central Scotland. Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway Th ...

meets the Glasgow-Edinburgh via Falkirk line, lies north-east of Whitecross. The main local industries were a brickworks and coal mining, both now ceased. The

Avon Aqueduct The Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Union Canal over the River Avon, near Linlithgow, Scotland. History The aqueduct was built to a design by Hugh Baird, with advice from Thomas Telford, in tandem with the aqueducts a ...

carries the

Union Canal Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

across the River Avon just south of Whitecross. The ruins of Manuel Priory are close to Whitecross on the eastern,

, bank of the Avon. This was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

convent founded, or perhaps re-founded, in the reign of King

Malcolm IV of Scotland Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...

(1153–1165). The remains of the 15th century Haining Castle lie in the grounds of the former Manuel brickwork north-east of Whitecross.

References

External links

Canmore - Linlithgow, Whitecross, Manuel Works site record
Villages in Falkirk (council area) {{Falkirk-geo-stub

See also

References

External links