Broxburn, West Lothian - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Broxburn is a town in West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

located 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

on the A8 road. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) from Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport is located at Turnhouse in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2010, handling just under 8.6 million passengers in that year. It was also the sixth busiest airport in the UK by passengers and the fifth busiest by aircraft movements...

, and to the north of Livingston.

As a commuter town

Commuter town

A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

serving the M8 corridor into Edinburgh and the industrial areas of Livingston, Broxburn has seen a recent increase in immigration, especially from Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, broadening its cultural diversity.

History

The village that later became Broxburn probably originated around 1350 when Margery le Cheyne inherited the eastern half of the Barony of Strathbrock (Easter Strathbrock) on the death of her father, Sir Reginald le Cheyne III. The hamlet that grew up around her residence was then called Eastertoun (eastern town) after the land on which it stood. The lands of Strathbrock were earlier owned by Freskin the Fleming

Freskin

Freskin was a minor nobleman active in the reign of King David I of Scotland. His name appears only in a charter by King William to Freskin's son, William, granting Strathbrock in West Lothian and Duffus, Kintrae, and other lands in Moray, "which his father held in the time of King David"...

, granted to him under a charter from King David I of Scotland

David I of Scotland

David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...

Eastertoun was burned to the ground sometime in 1443-4 during a conflict between William Douglas

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas

William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas and Beatrice Sinclair....

, Lieutenant-General of Scotland, and William Crichton

William Crichton, 1st Lord Crichton

William Crichton, 1st Lord Crichton of Sanquhar was an important political figure in Scotland.He held various positions within the court of James I. At the death of James I, William Crichton was Sheriff of Edinburgh, Keeper of Edinburgh Castle, and Master of the King’s household...

, Chancellor of Scotland. It was destroyed again in 1455 during fighting between the Douglases and King James II of Scotland

James II of Scotland

James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...

. After the conflict was resolved the village was gradually resettled.

The village was renamed Broxburn in 1600 by Sir Richard Cockburn of Clerkington, Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland

The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal...

, almost certainly after Broxburn, East Lothian

Broxburn, East Lothian

Broxburn is a hamlet consisting of a handful of scattered houses which serve the Broxmouth estate in East Lothian, Scotland. It is named after the creek upon which it stands, the Brox Burn. It lies about south-east of Dunbar. On the Brox Burn is Brand's Mill, dating from mediaeval times...

. The name most likely derives from Brooks burn - brook (or bourn) meaning a boundary, and burn meaning a stream. Later Brooks burn became Brox burn and so Broxburn. Brox may also derive from broch

Broch

A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....

, a Celtic round tower fortification, or from "brock", the old Celtic word for badger

Badger

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

Past

Broxburn remained an agricultural community until the development of the oil shale industry

Oil shale industry

Oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen , from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. The industry has developed in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany, Israel and...

in the area during the second half of the nineteenth century. This brought in a rapid influx of workers, greatly expanding the local population. Broxburn is still known for its association with the industry, pioneered by the inventor and industrialist James Young. Many shale spoil tips, known as bings, are still in evidence around the town.

Present

Broxburn now has two separate industrial areas, the Greendykes Industrial Estate and the East Mains Industrial Estate, which provide employment for local people. The largest employers are Campbells Prime Meat Limited, Glenmorangie

Glenmorangie

Glenmorangie is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by The Glenmorangie Company Ltd, whose main product is the range of Glenmorangie single malt whisky. Glenmorangie is categorised as a Highland distillery and boasts the...

and Broxburn Bottlers Limited (part of Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd). The headquarters of Kwik-Fit

Kwik-Fit

Kwik-Fit is a British car servicing and repair company, specialising in tyres, brakes, exhausts, MOT testing, car servicing, air-conditioning recharge, oil changes and windscreen repair. They are the leading fast-fit supplier of tyres in the UK with over 600 Kwik-Fit centres.-History:Sir Tom Farmer...

, the automotive repair company, are also located in Broxburn.

Leisure

The Union Canal

Union Canal (Scotland)

The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...

passes through Broxburn. It no longer operates as a transport link, but is now used for fishing and some leisure boating. It has a towpath previously used by the horses which drew canal barges and which is now used as a footpath.

Notable people

Broxburn is the birthplace of director Michael Caton-Jones

Michael Caton-Jones

Michael Caton-Jones is the director of such films as Scandal, Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and The Jackal...

(director), Andrew Fairlie

Andrew Fairlie

Andrew Fairlie is a Scottish actor who is most famous for playing the role of Gash Nesbitt in the BBC sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt. He also starred as Sunny Jim in the 1994 BBC Scotland series The Tales of Para Handy....

(actor)http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0265615/, Mark Burchill

Mark Burchill

Mark James Burchill is a Scottish professional football player who plays as a striker. He previously played for Scottish clubs Celtic, Dundee, Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic and Kilmarnock, and in England for Birmingham City, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and...

(footballer), Steven Craig (footballer), Bill Bann

Bill Bann

William Edward "Bill" Bann was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Broxburn United, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, Bristol Rovers and Aldershot.- Football career :...

(footballer) and one time England Test cricketer and Scottish one day international Gavin Hamilton

Gavin Hamilton (cricketer)

Gavin Mark Hamilton is an all-round cricketer who played one Test for England and has appeared in a number of One Day Internationals for Scotland...

. Calum Logan (bowler) Scottish Junior Singles Champion 2010/2011.

Education

Broxburn has four schools, all state funded, Broxburn Primary, Kirkhill Primary, St Nicholas Primary (RC) and Broxburn Academy

Broxburn Academy

Broxburn Academy is a modern secondary school in Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland.-Headteacher and SMT:The current Headteacher is Peter Reid and he is assisted by his Depute Headteachers' Kenneth Boal, Abi Adam and Lynn Nicol.-Catchment Area:...

Sports and health

Broxburn is home to the junior

Scottish Junior Football Association

The Scottish Junior Football Association is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the Junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "Junior" refers to the level of football played...

football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

club Broxburn Athletic

Broxburn Athletic F.C.

Broxburn Athletic F.C. are a Scottish junior football club based in the town of Broxburn, West Lothian. They play their home games at Albyn Park. The team was managed by the late Jamie Dolan....

. There are sports and health facilities publicly available, including a sports centre, library, swimming pool and bowling clubs.

Administration

Broxburn lies in the Livingston constituency

Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)

Livingston is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it returns one Member of Parliament . Elections are held using the first-past-the-post voting system....

of the British Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

and the Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh ward of West Lothian Council

West Lothian Council

West Lothian Council is one of 32 local authorities in Scotland and has 32 elected members Councillors who are elected every 4 years.The Council makes its decisions at its meetings, or those of its Committees and Sub-Committees....

. Broxburn is in the Livingston constituency

Livingston (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Livingston was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....

of the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

Transport

Broxburn has regular links to Edinburgh, Livingston, Linlithgow, Edinburgh Airport and Leith. Operators serving the town include, First, E&M Horsburgh, and Nordi Travel. The nearest railway station is at Uphall Station

Uphall Station

Uphall Station is a small village located in the geographical county of West Lothian, Scotland. The name is derived from neighbouring town Uphall on account of there being a small railway station located on the northeast perimeter of the village. The village is situated southeast of neighbouring...

providing links to Livingston, Bathgate, Airdrie, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Hospitals and churches

The local hospital is St. John's Hospital at Howden in Livingston. Broxburn has its own health centre at the Strathbrock Partnership Centre. It has five churches, Broxburn Baptist Church, Broxburn Catholic Church, Broxburn Parish Church, Hopehall Evangelical Church and St Nicholas United Free Church of Scotland. There are also some other religious groups active in the town, including Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

and several evangelical Christian organisations.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.