Falkirk
| |
|---|---|
| Town andadministrative centre | |
 Falkirk High Street | |
  Falkirk Location within theFalkirk council area | |
| Area | 11 km2 (4.2 sq mi) |
| Population | 35,590 (2020)[1] |
| • Density | 3,197/km2 (8,280/sq mi) |
| Settled | 7th century |
| Burgh Charter | 1600 |
| Elevation | 37 m (121 ft)[2] |
| OS grid reference | NS887801 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FALKIRK |
| Postcode district | FK1, FK2 |
| Dialling code | 01324 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| 56°00′04″N3°47′01″W / 56.0011°N 3.7835°W /56.0011; -3.7835 | |
Falkirk (/ˈfɔːlkərk/FAWL-kurk;Scots:Fawkirk[ˈfɔːkɪrk];Scottish Gaelic:An Eaglais Bhreac) is a town in theCentral Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county ofStirlingshire. It lies in theForth Valley,23+1⁄2 miles (38 kilometres) northwest ofEdinburgh and20+1⁄2 miles (33 km) northeast ofGlasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the2001 UK Census. The population of the town had risen to 34,570 according to a 2008 estimate, making it the20th most populous settlement in Scotland. Falkirk is the main town and administrative centre of theFalkirk council area, which has an overall population of 156,800[3] and inholds the nearby towns ofGrangemouth,Bo'ness,Denny, Bonnybridge,Camelon,Larbert andStenhousemuir, and the cluster ofBraes villages.
The town is at the junction of theForth and Clyde andUnion Canals, a location which proved key to its growth as a centre ofheavy industry during theIndustrial Revolution. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Falkirk was at the centre of theiron andsteel industry, underpinned by theCarron Company in nearbyCarron. The company made very many different items, from flat irons to kitchen ranges to fireplaces to benches to railings and many other items, but alsocarronades for the Royal Navy and, later, manufacturedpillar boxes and phone boxes. Within the last fifty years, heavy industry has waned, and the economy relies increasingly on retail and tourism. Despite this, Falkirk remains the home of many international companies likeAlexander Dennis, the largest bus production company in the United Kingdom. Falkirk has a long association with the publishing industry. The company now known asJohnston Press was established in the town in 1846. The company, now based in Edinburgh, produces theFalkirk Herald.
Attractions in and around Falkirk include theFalkirk Wheel,The Helix,The Kelpies,Callendar House and Park and remnants of theAntonine Wall. In a 2011 poll conducted bySTV, it was voted as Scotland's most beautiful town.[4]
_saluting_at_the_Roman_vs_Picts_5k_race%2c_Callendar_House.jpg)
An Eaglais Bhreac is a derivative formed from theScottish Gaeliccognate of the first recorded nameEgglesbreth from theBrittonic for "speckled church",[5] presumably referring to a church building built of many-coloured stones. The Scottish Gaelic name wascalqued intoScots asFawkirk (literally "variegated church"[6]), then later amended to the modern English name ofFalkirk. TheLatin nameVaria Capella also has the same meaning.[5]Falkirk Old Parish Church stands on the site of the medieval church, which may have been founded as early as the 7th century.[7]
TheAntonine Wall, which stretches across the centre of Scotland, passed through the town and remnants of it can be seen at Callendar Park. Similar toHadrian's Wall but built of turf rather than stone so less of it has survived, it marked the northernfrontier of theRoman Empire between theFirth of Forth andFirth of Clyde during theAD 140s.[8] Much of the best evidence ofRoman occupation in Scotland has been found in Falkirk, including a large hoard ofRoman coins and a cloth oftartan, thought to be the oldest ever recorded.[9] ARoman fort was confirmed to be found by Geoff Bailey in the Pleasance area of Falkirk in 1991.[10] A Roman themed park atCallendar House was awarded lottery funding to help raise awareness of the wall.[11]
In the 18th century the area was the cradle of Scotland'sIndustrial Revolution, becoming the earliest major centre of theiron-casting industry.James Watt cast some of the beams for his earlysteam engine designs at theCarron Iron Works in 1765. The area was at the forefront ofcanal construction when theForth and Clyde Canal opened in 1790.[12] TheUnion Canal (1822) provided a link toEdinburgh and early railway development followed in the 1830s and 1840s.[13] The canals brought economic wealth to Falkirk and led to the town's growth. Through time, trunk roads and motorways followed the same canal corridors through the Falkirk area, linking the town with the rest of Scotland. Many companies set up work in Falkirk due to its expansion. A large brickworks was set up at this time, owned by theHowie family. During the 19th century, Falkirk became the first town in Great Britain to have a fully automated system of street lighting, designed and implemented by a local firm, Thomas Laurie & Co Ltd.[14]
Two important battles have taken place at Falkirk:
In terms of local government the town sits at the heart of Falkirk Council area, one of the32 unitary authorities of Scotland formed by theLocal Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. The headquarters of the council are located in the Municipal Buildings, adjacent to the former FTH Theatre, on West Bridge Street in the centre of town.[15] The council was the firstlocal government in Scotland to be governed by theLabour Party, in 1921.[16] It has been led by aScottish National Party minority since 2017.[17] The current Leader of the council isCllr Cecil Meiklejohn.[18]
Falkirk is located within theScottish parliamentary constituency ofFalkirk West which elects oneMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) under thefirst past the post system.[19] The current MSP isMichael Matheson, who won the seat at the2007 Scottish Parliament General Election. The previous MSP,Dennis Canavan, who sat as anIndependent, was elected with the largest majority in the Scottish parliament representing Falkirk's electorate's displeasure withNew Labour, but stepped down in 2007 for family reasons.[19] Canavan, who announced in an open letter to his constituents in January 2007, that he was stepping down from representative politics at theScottish Parliament election, 2007 had been an MSP or MP for the area for over 30 years.[20] The constituency of Falkirk West also sits in theCentral Scotland Scottish Parliament electoral region which returns seven MSPs under theadditional member system used to elect Members of the Scottish Parliament.[21]
In theParliament of the United Kingdom, the town is entirely contained within the UK parliamentary constituency ofFalkirk which elects one member to theHouse of Commons under theplurality system.[22] The constituency also takes in surrounding villages and is currently represented byEuan Stainbank of theScottish Labour Party.[22] Traditionally, Falkirk had been seen as a stronghold for the Labour Party.[23]
Prior toBrexit in 2020 it was part of the pan-ScotlandEuropean Parliament constituency which elected sixMembers of the European Parliament (MEP)s using thed'Hondt method ofparty-list proportional representation.
.jpg)
Falkirk is located in an area of undulating topography between theSlamannan Plateau and the upper reaches of theFirth of Forth. The area to the north of Falkirk is part of the floodplain of theRiver Carron. Two tributaries of the River Carron - theEast Burn and theWest Burn flow through the town and form part of its natural drainage system.[24] Falkirk sits at between 50 metres (164 ft) and 125 metres (410 ft)above sea level.[25]
The underlying geology of the town of Falkirk is characterised by glacial deposits. Elevations above 100 metres (328 ft) are covered by a mixture of glacial till andboulder clay with low-lying areas covered bysandy soils andloams.[25] As Falkirk is not far from the coast, post-glacial features akin toraised beaches are particularly predominant to the north of the town centre, and this gives rise to differing elevations within the town.[25]
Unsorted glacial till gives rise to such features of glacial deposition aseskers, anddrumlins which are predominant over much of the area. Such elements provide natural transport routes and it is this complex underlying geology that the town is built upon.[25]
Situation of Falkirk | |
|---|---|
Like much of the rest of Scotland, Falkirk has atemperatemaritime climate, which is relatively mild despite its northerlylatitude. Winters are especially mild given thatMoscow andLabrador lie on the same latitude, with daytime temperatures rarely falling below 0 °C (32 °F). Summer temperatures are comparatively cool, with daily upper maxima rarely exceeding 23 °C (73 °F). The proximity of the town to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. The prevailing wind direction is from the south-west, which is associated with warm, unstable air from theGulf Stream that gives rise to rainfall. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but colder. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Vigorous Atlantic depressions - sometimes calledEuropean windstorms can affect the town between October and March. The highest recorded temperature was 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) in August 2010.
| Climate data for Falkirk (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.3 (45.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.9 (49.8) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.7 (60.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 19.8 (67.6) | 19.6 (67.3) | 17.2 (63.0) | 13.4 (56.1) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.4 (45.3) | 13.2 (55.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) | 1.5 (34.7) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 9.7 (49.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 5.9 (42.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.6 (42.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 111.8 (4.40) | 93.0 (3.66) | 72.6 (2.86) | 46.3 (1.82) | 53.5 (2.11) | 69.2 (2.72) | 74.6 (2.94) | 78.2 (3.08) | 70.1 (2.76) | 99.0 (3.90) | 97.0 (3.82) | 106.2 (4.18) | 971.7 (38.26) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 15.3 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 9.8 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 14.1 | 15.2 | 14.8 | 154.0 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 40.1 | 71.7 | 100.7 | 136.3 | 172.2 | 147.3 | 149.6 | 141.5 | 111.8 | 80.7 | 52.4 | 33.6 | 1,237.9 |
| Source:Met Office[26] | |||||||||||||
TheUnited Kingdom Census 2001 identified the town as having a total resident population of 32,422.[27] The population was estimated at 34,570 in 2008[28] which makes the town the 20th most populous settlement in Scotland. Thewider Falkirk area which includesGrangemouth,Larbert andStenhousemuir has an overall population of 98,940 making this the 5th largest urban area afterGlasgow,Edinburgh,Aberdeen andDundee.[29] The population of the town and surrounding area is forecast to grow over the next ten years, primarily due to net in migration from other parts of Scotland and the UK.[30] Unemployment in the Falkirk area is low at 2.5%, below the Scottish average, but average household income and gross weekly pay are below the comparative Scottish and UK averages.
Today, the economy of Falkirk is focused on retail and services, in contrast to the heavy industries and manufacturing sectors which contributed to the growth of the town over the last 300 years. Falkirk is a large retail centre catering to the town itself and a wide surrounding area, stretching fromCumbernauld in the west toBo'ness in the east.[31] The retailerMarks and Spencer opened a store in Falkirk Town Centre in 1936 but this closed in 2018 (the building is now a creative arts space).[31][32][33] The High Street was pedestrianised in the late 1980s, and the Howgate Shopping Centre opened in April 1990.[31] Another shopping centre, Callendar Square was opened in 1993 but finally closed in 2020.[34][35] A number of supermarkets includingTesco,Asda,Morrisons andScottish Co-op have developed on peripheral sites surrounding the town centre since the late 1990s.[36]
The public sector and public services also have a foothold in the Falkirk area. Falkirk Council is one of the largest employers in this sphere, with a workforce of over 7,000, many based at the council headquarters in the town centre.[15] One of the principal offices of the UKChild Support Agency, covering Scotland and the north east of England, is located in the Callendar Business Park on the outskirts of Falkirk.[37] Similarly theNational Health Service (NHS) andDepartment for Work and Pensions have a presence in the town and employ local residents.
Many Falkirk residents are also employed within thepetrochemicals sector based in neighbouringGrangemouth where there is anagglomeration of such industries underpinned by theIneos (formerlyBP) oil refinery located there.[38]Alexander Dennis, one of the world's largest bus manufacturers, is headquartered in Falkirk with the operations plant located nearby.[39]
Falkirk hosted a national arts festival which ran in Callendar Park from 2000 to 2009 calledBig In Falkirk. After its inception in 2000, the festival won Scottish Thistle Award for Events & Festivals in 2005.[40] Consisting of a free weekend of events, the festival was one of the largest cultural events in Scotland, attracting over 100,000 people. Hosted in Falkirk's historical Callendar Park, the venue covers 180 acres (75 hectares) withCallendar House as the focal point, the entertainment featured a wide variety ofoutdoor theatre,pyrotechnic displays,arts, comedy and big name music acts, alongside activities for all ages.
Falkirk hosted theRoyal National Mòd in 2008.[41] The Gold medals were won by Falkirk resident Lyle Kennedy and Kerrie Finlay fromInverness. Interest in Gaelic has grown in Falkirk since the Mòd and there are now five Gaelic organisations active in the Falkirk area: An Clas Gàidhlig (provides Gaelic lessons to adults), An Comunn Gàidhealach Meur na h-Eaglaise Brice (is the local branch of An Comunn Gàidhealach), Fèis Fhoirt (provides traditional music and Gaelic song tuition for children and adults), Falkirk Gaelic Forum (promotes Gaelic in Falkirk) and Falkirk Junior Gaelic Choir (is a long established and successful youth choir).
The historicalCallendar House is an imposing mansion with a 600-year history which is now a public museum and open access parkland, with a cafe and shop. The Park Gallery, a contemporary art gallery is also based in the house.[42]
Falkirk is administered byNHS Forth Valley, this includes the unitary authorities ofFalkirk,Stirling andClackmannanshire. Following the opening of the newForth Valley Royal Hospital, the Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary was renamedFalkirk Community Hospital[43] with many of the main services, including theaccident and emergency unit being transferred.[43] Falkirk Community Hospital will still provide many services likepodiatry andpalliative care.[43] The Community Hospital continues to have a Minor Injury Unit, to treat emergency cases of a non life-threatening nature.[44] In-patient and community services at Bonnybridge Hospital will re-locate to Falkirk Community Hospital in 2012,[43] once new modern, en-suite accommodation has been developed.A new purpose-built dental centre, Langlees Dental Centre, provides a "teach and treat" dental centre in the Langlees area of Falkirk opened in August 2009.[43] It has seven dental surgeries and is involved in training final year students at Glasgow Dental School.[43]
TheFalkirk Wheel, the only rotary canal connector in the world, is located withinFalkirk. The attraction was completed in 2002 and it connects theForth and Clyde Canal to theUnion Canal.[45]
On Falkirk High Street lies theFalkirk Steeple. The current building was built in 1814 and is protected as a category Alisted building. A stylised image of the steeple appears on the crest of Falkirk Football Club. The Steeple is widely regarded as the centre point of the town. Nearby, on Cow Wynd is the Tattie Kirk, a Category B listed octagonal former church built in 1804, adjacent to its former graveyard.[46][47]
The FTH Theatre (the "Falkirk Town Hall Theatre") in West Bridge Street was commissioned to replace the old town hall in Newmarket Street which was demolished in 1968.[48] In 2022, it was announced that the Town Hall and FTH Theatre would close as the building required significant renovation.[49] In 2023, it was announced that the council would purchase the empty former Callendar Square shopping centre. The centre is due to be demolished in 2024 with a view to constructing a combined new town hall, theatre, library and civic space for Falkirk.[50][51]
Alongside the M9 between Falkirk and Grangemouth,The Kelpies are 30-metre-high (98 ft) horse-head sculptures depictingkelpies (shape-shifting water spirits). They are part ofHelix Park, a land transformation project to improve the connections between and around communities in Falkirk.[52]
TheFalkirk Area occupies a central position in Scotland, with direct access from the key north–south and east–west motorway networks: theM9 from the north and east and theM876 from the west. Falkirk has main rail and canal routes within easy reach fromEdinburgh andGlasgow; it is central to access to bothGlasgow andEdinburgh airports. Falkirk is well situated both for access by rail from England and for access to other parts of Scotland excludingFife, which has no direct rail link to Falkirk. Road access is to Fife provided by theKincardine Bridge,Clackmannanshire Bridge and theForth Road Bridge, via the M9.
Falkirk has two railway stations:Falkirk High andFalkirk Grahamston.
Falkirk High is on the mainGlasgow-Edinburgh line, with connections to either city running on a 15-minute frequency. At peak times, 8 trains per hour stop: 4 forGlasgow Queen Street viaCroy and 4 forEdinburgh Waverley, viaPolmont andLinlithgow. Journey times to Edinburgh vary from 24 minutes to 35 minutes, depending on stopping stations and time of day; the journey time is between 18 and 28 minutes to Glasgow.
Falkirk Grahamston lies on theEdinburgh to Dunblane Line. ToEdinburgh Waverley, there are 4 trains per hour, with journey times varying around 34 minutes. ToGlasgow Queen Street, there are 2 trains per hour via theCumbernauld Line with journey times from 39 minutes to 43 minutes.
The formerFalkirk bus station lies in the town centre however since 20 August 2018 has been closed. Its bus routes which provided links to the cities of Stirling, Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as local routes have now been moved to the nearby street of Newmarket Street.[53]
Falkirk is home to one of the four campuses ofForth Valley College which was formed on 1 August 2005 from the merger of Falkirk,Stirling andClackmannan colleges. The Falkirk Campus is by far the largest of the four campuses.[citation needed]
Falkirk District is served by eight high schools which have all been recently rebuilt.
| School | Roll | Opened | Catchment area |
| Bo'ness Academy | Originally 1931, rebuilt 2000 | Blackness, Bo'ness Public, Deanburn, Grange, and Kinneil Primary Schools | |
| Braes High School | 2000 | Avonbridge, California, Drumbowie, Maddiston, Shieldhill and Wallacestone Primary Schools | |
| Denny High School | Originally 1959 | Denny, Nethermains, Dunipace, Head of Muir, Bankier and Bonnybridge Primary Schools | |
| Falkirk High School | 1,200 | Originally 1886, rebuilt 2010 | Bainsford, Bantaskin, Carmuirs, Comely Park, Easter Carmuirs, Langlees, Limerigg and Slamannan Primary Schools |
| Graeme High School | 1,200 | Originally 1930, rebuilt 2000 | Hallglen, Laurieston, St. Margaret's, Victoria, Westquarter and Whitecross Primary Schools |
| Grangemouth High School | 810 | rebuilt 2009 | Bowhouse, Beancross, and Moray Primary Schools |
| Larbert High School | 1,700 | Originally 1885, rebuilt 2000 | Airth,Bothkennar, Carron, Carronshore, Kinnaird, Ladeside, Larbert Village and Stenhousemuir Primary Schools |
| St. Mungo's High School | 1,200 | Originally 1953, rebuilt 2009 | Falkirk area |
Falkirk is served by a weekly newspaper, theFalkirk Herald, which is published byJohnston Press. The company was established by the Johnston family from Falkirk, who have been involved in publishing since 1767. The family acquired theHerald, their first newspaper, in 1846. The publishing company was renamed F Johnston & Co Ltd in 1882, a title it would retain until it was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Johnston Press in 1988. The corporate headquarters of Johnston Press are now in Edinburgh, but the company retains two offices in Falkirk and Grangemouth.
The 2001 census[54] showed the majority of the population claim to belong to one of the Christian denominationswith 48% of these beingChurch of Scotland, 12% beingRoman Catholic, and 5% belonging to other Christian denominations. 29% of people belong to no religion, about 1% above thenational figure.
The Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Falkirk includes congregations in Bo'ness, Bonnybridge, Cumbernauld, Grangemouth and Larbert, as well as Falkirk.
Falkirk currently has three men'sfootball teams,Falkirk Football Club,Stenhousemuir F.C. andEast Stirlingshire Football Club.
Falkirk F.C. was founded in 1876 and was elected to compete in theScottish Football League in1902. The club's highest ranking came in the1907–08 season and once again in1909–10 when the club finished runners-up of Division One, the country's top football division, losing out toCeltic F.C. on both occasions. The club has reached the final of theScottish Cup on five occasions, emerging victorious twice in1913 and1957 respectively. The club currently competes in theScottish Professional Football League and plays their home games at theFalkirk Stadium near Grangemouth.
The town's other men's club,East Stirlingshire F.C., was founded in 1881 originally asBainsford Britannia and has competed in the Scottish Football League since1900. The club has predominantly played in the lower leagues of Scottish football, spending only two whole seasons in the top division after being promoted from Division Two in1931–32 and1962–63. The club currently competes in theLowland Football League and from the 2018–19 season will play their home games at theFalkirk Stadium following a groundshare agreement with Falkirk F.C.Firs Park was the home of the club for the majority of the club's existence but was vacated at the end of the 2007/08 season.
Falkirk currently has two women'sfootball teams,Central Girls Football Academy andFalkirk Ladies.Central play in the second tier(SWPL2) andFalkirk play in the third tier(SWFL) of women's football.[55]
Falkirk is home to Scotland's first Co-ed Roller Derby League. Clubs from the area are the Skelpies men's team, the Central Belters women's team and the Belter Skelpers Co-ed team.[56]
Falkirk Rugby Club can trace their roots to 1906 when F.R.F.C. was first formed. It was disbanded at the start ofWorld War I. In 1972 the club was resurrected when the works team from ICI Grangemouth decided to become "open" and looked for a new home. They initially played at Stirling Road playing fields before building their clubhouse at the present site at Sunnyside in 1981. The club has risen through the ranks of rugby winning six consecutive promotions, five of them as league champions, a Scottish record.[citation needed]
Falkirk also has a hockey team,Falkirk and Linlithgow Hockey Club, which was formed in from various mergers of other hockey clubs throughout the years. It now has multiple men's and women's teams which play in various leagues, with the first team playing in theScottish Hockey National Leagues.[57]
Falkirk Fury Basketball Club, currently calledClark Eriksson Fury Basketball Club in asponsorship deal with local firm Clark Eriksson, represents the town in the sport.[58] The team was established in 1992 and originally consisted of players fromFalkirk High School and sports development players.[58] Today the team competes in all 6 Scottish National Age Groups. The men's side currently competes in theScottish Men's National League, the top league in Scottish basketball and is considered the second tier of British basketball below theBBL and in line with theEnglish Basketball League.[58] The club plays home games at the Mariner Centre inCamelon or sometimes at the Grangemouth sports complex.
Boxing
Falkirk has a number ofarchery clubs in and around the greater Falkirk area, including the Falkirk Company of Archers that was established in 1971 and is affiliated to the Scottish Archery Association (SAA) which is a region of the national governing body; Archery GB.[59] During summer, members shoot outdoors on Sunnyside playing fields and during winter members shoot indoors at Woodlands Games Hall. The club is atarget archery club with most members shootingrecurve bow, though traditional archery has made a resurgence in the club recently with some members shooting barebows, horse bows andlongbow.
Falkirk istwinned with:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
