Laurieston is a village in 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 ...

in Central

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 ...

. It is east

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-west of

Grangemouth Grangemouth (; , ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area in the central belt of Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firt ...

and west of Polmont. Laurieston is located on the A803 road between

and Polmont. 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
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 () 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 ...

runs through the village with the largest

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

on the wall located at

Mumrills Mumrills was the site of the largest Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It is possible that Mumrills could exchange signals with Flavian Gask Ridge forts. Some believe Mumrills may have been the site of Wallace's defeat at the Battle ...

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 Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

, 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.

Fort, the largest Roman Fort on the

, was situated to the east while the path of the

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 (1949–2011), British Army soldier, spent his childhood and youth in Laurieston. * Captain James Fitz Morris (1879 - 1918),

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, accredited with 14 aerial victories. Attended Laurieston Public School. Morris died in a flying accident in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio on 14 August 1918. * James Reilly (1893 - 1918), member of The Royal Scots,

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

Reilly was recommended for his bravery on three occasions. Brought up in James Street, Laurieston, Reilly was killed in France. He is honoured on the memorial at Arras to the missing in France. * Cheryl Forbes, 1974, international opera singer born and brought up in Laurieston. She has twice been honoured by her home town of Falkirk for services to music. * Graham Lister, born approx. 1957 in Laurieston, educated at Graeme High School and The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. A renowned Opera singer and talented musician, Lister currently lives in Barcelona.

References

External links

The Official Website of the Nobel Prize
Villages in Falkirk (council area) {{Falkirk-geo-stub

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links