Fauldhouse
| Fauldhouse | |
| West Lothian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS929606 |
| Location: | 55°49’38"N, 3°42’33"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,730 (2004 est) |
| Post town: | Bathgate |
| Postcode: | EH47 |
| Dialling code: | 01501 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Lothian |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Linlithgow and East Falkirk |
Fauldhouse is a village in West Lothian, about halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
History
Fauldhouse is known since the Middle Ages, and was known until the 19th century by the names "Falas" or latterly "Fallas." The seventeenth century Dutch mapmaker Willem Blaeu features Fauldhouse as "Falas" on two maps in his Atlas Novus. There are families with the surname Fallas, who obviously had ancestors who came from Fauldhouse. The name Fallas or Fauldhouse has been translated as "house on the fold", "house in the field", or "house on unploughed (fallow) land".
A desolate location on the edge of a moorland, the decline in its mining and other industries and a general reputation for being quite tough have made it a rather neglected place in recent times, though relatively cheap property prices and its proximity to the two major cities are now stimulating signs of regeneration. The population is currently increasing with hundreds of homes being built.
Facilities
To the south of Fauldhouse is the 18-hole Greenburn Golf Club which was founded in 1892, but which has been on its present site for around 50 years. Trains run through the course over a viaduct. The village also has two primary schools, Falla Hill and St John the Baptist RC, which have both been expanding over recent years. The local high school for Falla Hill is Whitburn Academy and for St John the Baptist, St Kentigern's Academy in Blackburn.
Fauldhouse once had a cinema but it was closed many years ago.
Neighbouring villages include Longridge, Shotts and Stoneyburn. The nearest town to Fauldhouse is Whitburn followed by Livingston.
The church of St John the Baptist was the first Roman Catholic parish in West Lothian, in the year 1873.
The town is served by Fauldhouse railway station, on the Shotts Line between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Sports
- Cricket: Fauldhouse Victoria, established in 1855
- Football
- Fauldhouse United FC
- Fauldhouse Foxes FCA
- Golf: Greenburn Golf Course, founded in 1892, but it has been on its present site for around 50 years. Trains run through the course over a viaduct.
- Swimming: The Fauldhouse Penguins
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fauldhouse) |