Uphall, West Lothian
Encyclopedia
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...
. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn
Broxburn, West Lothian
Broxburn is a town in West Lothian, Scotland located west of Edinburgh on the A8 road. It is situated approximately from Edinburgh Airport, and to the north of Livingston....
to the east, Dechmont
Dechmont
Dechmont is a small village located near Uphall, West Lothian in Scotland. Bangour Village Hospital is located to the west of Dechmont. It has an approximate population of 989 people. Its postal code is EH52...
to the west and the major town of Livingston
Livingston, Scotland
Livingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
to the south west. Uphall is 30 miles from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and 14 miles from 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...
in the Scottish Lowlands
Scottish Lowlands
The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....
.
Uphall has a public golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course and a selection of public houses including The Oatridge Hotel, The Dovehill Arms, Houston House Hotel.
Until the second half of the 19th century Uphall and its neighbour, Broxburn, were small rural communities. The discovery and exploitation of local oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
triggered massive growth as many people moved to the area to gain employment in the oil shale mines and associated oil works
Shale oil
Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas...
. Surrounding villages expanded rapidly as rows of miners' cottages were erected to accommodate the influx of people, most of whom came - in search of money - from Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland.
This boom continued until the oil industry went into terminal decline in the 1920s and only post war industrial development at Greendykes and East Mains Industrial Estates, coupled with new employment throughout the West Lothian district and increased commuting to Edinburgh, helped to offset the depression that followed.
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...
, the DTM
DTM
In sport:* Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a motor-racing series staged annually in Germany since 2000* Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, a motor-racing championship staged in Germany from 1984 to 1995In computing:...
champion 2010, and Formula One race driver in 2011 with the Force India F1 Team was born in Uphall on April 16, 1986.