Camelon (; , ) is a large settlement within the

Falkirk council area Falkirk ( ; ; ) 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 of three parts of the Central r ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The village is in the

Forth Valley The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of t ...

, west of

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, south of

Larbert Larbert (, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron (Forth), River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is from the shoreline of the Firth of Fo ...

and east of

Bonnybridge Bonnybridge (; ) is a village in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is west of Falkirk, north-east of Cumbernauld and south-southwest of Stirling. The village is situated near the Bonny Water which runs through t ...

. The main road through Camelon is the

A803 road The A803 is a road in central Scotland. It runs from Glasgow to Champany, West Lothian, Champany Corner, due north-east of Linlithgow). Route Beginning at Townhead, Glasgow, Townhead in central Glasgow as part of a feeder system for the M8 mot ...

which links the village to Falkirk. At the time of the 2001 census, Camelon had a population of 4,508.

History

Human activity at Camelon pre-dates the Romans, as Bronze Age items have been recovered from graves in the area. Camelon is the site of a series of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fortifications built between 80 and 83 AD. Camelon has been suggested as the southern fort of the Roman

Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of Castra, fortifications, built by the Roman Empire, Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Boundary Fault, Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by ...

separating the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

from the

Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

. The

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

was under a mile north of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () 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 twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

. A Roman altar was found at Bogton Farm 1000 yards (under a kilometre) west of the fort. A

Samian ware Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas ...

platter, possibly also associated with the site was found, and can now be viewed at the

Hunterian Museum The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

in Glasgow. Antonine

Camelon and its connections with

Arthur's O'on Arthur's O'on () was a stone building thought to be Roman temple that, until 1743, stood on rising ground above the north bank of the River Carron (Forth), River Carron not far from the old Carron ironworks in Stenhousemuir, near Falkirk, Scotlan ...

have been mentioned in relation to Camelot, but the name 'Camelon' may be an antiquarian neologism coined after the 15th century, with its earlier name being ''Carmore'' or ''Carmure''.

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...

was the first historian to mention Camelon in his ''Historia Gentis Scotorum'' of 1522.

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

was supposed to have won a battle at Camelon and captured the crown of the Pictish kings. Stories of a legendary Roman harbour at Camelon first appeared in 1695. The legend of Camelon's twelve brass gates was also widespread albeit dubious. More mundane items like leather shoes were found when Tesco's supermarket was being constructed. Camelon developed when the canals were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Much of the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allow ...

opened in the 1770s over a decade after the

Carron Iron Works The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. Th ...

were established. The Union Canal opened in 1822 and brought traffic from Edinburgh to Port Downie where the canals met. A couple of decades later saw the coming of the railways. In 1831 the village was described as having a population of 809, with 250 men and boys employed in nail making. Historical industries included nail making, a tar processing plant and other chemical works,Villages of Falkirk - Camelon
www.electricscotland.com. Retrieved 2011-05-08 a shipbuilding business near Lock Sixteen and a distillery at Rosebank. In the early 20th century W. Alexander & Sons set up a bus service and coachbuilders in Camelon. A flight of locks which joined the Union Canal with the

brought business to the village. This was replaced in 2002 with the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating

boat lift A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock. It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, li ...

Mariners

People from Camelon are known locally as Mariners. The name is probably best remembered by the Mariner Leisure Centre and in Mariners' Day. Mariners' Day was an annual children's fayre held on the second Saturday in June. It included a parade and a crowning ceremony of the Queen along with fun and games for the children of Camelon.

Transport

Camelon has good access for a village of its size with Camelon railway station lying on the

Cumbernauld Line The Cumbernauld Line is a suburban railway line linking Glasgow to Falkirk via Cumbernauld in Scotland. Since May 2014, the newly electrified track between Springburn and Cumbernauld has become an extension of the North Clyde network. Service ...

and the

Edinburgh to Dunblane line Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Next to the station there are amenities including the Mariner Leisure Centre. The main road through Camelon is the

which provides access to Falkirk.

Sport

Camelon is home to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Camelon Juniors Camelon Juniors Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Camelon, in the Falkirk district. The team plays in the , having moved from the junior leagues in 2018. Despite this move, the club has decided to retain the "Juniors" part o ...

, who play at Carmuirs Park next to the Forth and Clyde Canal. The club was founded in 1920 and currently compete in the .

References

External links