Falkirk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Falkirk is also the name of the Scottish council area centred on the town, see Falkirk (council area).
| Falkirk | |
|---|---|
| Gaelic: | An Eaglais Bhreac |
| Scots: | Falkirk [fo̜kɪrk] (Fawkirk) |
| Location | |
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| OS grid reference: | NS886800 |
| Statistics | |
| Population: | 32,379 (2001 Census) |
| Administration | |
| Council area: | Falkirk |
| Constituent country: | Scotland |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Police force: | Central Scotland Police |
| Lieutenancy area: | Stirling and Falkirk |
| Former county: | Stirlingshire |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | FALKIRK |
| Postal district: | FK1; FK2 |
| Dialling code: | 01324 |
| Politics | |
| Scottish Parliament: | Falkirk East, Falkirk West |
| UK Parliament: | Falkirk, Falkirk East & Linlithgow |
| European Parliament: | Scotland |
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Falkirk (An Eaglais Bhreac in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in central Scotland.
The town lies at the junction of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal. Attractions around Falkirk include the Falkirk Wheel, remnants of the Antonine wall, and Callendar House.
Contents |
[edit] History
The area has been of great strategic importance since the construction of the Antonine Wall between the Firths of Forth and Clyde in Roman times. Many of the best visible remains of the Romans in Scotland are in the Falkirk Area.
Two major battles took place at Falkirk:
- The Battle of Falkirk (1298) fought on July 22, saw the defeat of William Wallace by King Edward I.
- The second Battle of Falkirk took place in 17th January, 1746 between the Jacobites, under Bonnie Prince Charlie, and a government army commanded by Lieutenant General Henry Hawley. Hawley was defeated.
In the 18th century the area served as the cradle of Scotland's industrial revolution, becoming the earliest major centre of the iron-casting industry: to this day, cast-iron cooking pots are known in Zimbabwe as "falkirks". The area was at the forefront of canal construction when the Forth and Clyde Canal opened in 1790. The Union Canal (1822) provided a link to Edinburgh and early railway development followed in the 1830s and 1840s. In the course of time, trunk road and motorways followed the same national strategic corridors through the Falkirk area. A large brickworks was set up at this time, owned by the Howie family.
A chiefly branch of the Campbells of Craignish settled here in the 19th century and built several large houses, including Craigenhall.
[edit] Economy
The area continues to function as a very significant industrial and business centre, with a modern petrochemicals complex at Grangemouth, Scotland's largest deep-sea container port. Engineering, manufacturing, biotechnology, timber, distribution and business services also flourish.
The area's most recent attraction gives its heritage a modern twist. The Falkirk Wheel, the world's first rotating boatlift, acts as the centrepiece of the restoration of the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals. The spectacular "Wheel" presents the 21st century's solution to replacing a flight of locks which formerly connected the canals, and visitors can now take a boat trip on the Wheel and be lifted over 100 feet in a few minutes. The Falkirk Wheel has become a major site with a visitor centre, exhibition, activities, café and shop. It has started to attract world-wide attention.
Alexander Dennis, UK's largest bus manufacturer, is also headquartered there.
[edit] Culture
However, the area has an equally high reputation nowadays for its new residential, retail, heritage and leisure developments and it has gained much popularity as a place to live and a place to visit. The historic town of Falkirk serves as the area's thriving administrative, shopping and service centre, with shopping malls, the country's largest fully pedestrianised high street and attractive "off-High Street" locations.
Heritage and culture have importance for residents and visitors alike, with attractions such as:
- Callendar House in Falkirk, an imposing mansion with a 600-year history
- The Falkirk Steeple, widely regarded as the centre point of the town
- Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, offering steam-train travel
- "Big in Falkirk," Scotland's national street arts festival.
- Three football clubs: Falkirk F.C., who play in the Scottish Premier League; and East Stirlingshire F.C. and Stenhousemuir F.C., who play in the Third Division.
As the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland, a wide rich-poor gap was created, leading to one commentator to observe in the 1950s, "the poorer and the richer social groups (some very poor and some very wealthy) live close together and under the eyes of each other in Falkirk"*. This can be seen most notably in Woodlands, Falkirk, where very large residences are often very close to, or even facing, council housing. It has also meant that there are two very strong Conservative areas (Woodlands and Polmont) while the others are mainly very strong Labour areas.
[edit] Transport
The Falkirk Area occupies a central position in Scotland, on the key north-south and east-west motorway and rail routes and within easy reach of Edinburgh and Glasgow airports; Falkirk is well situated both for access from England and for access to other parts of Scotland.
Falkirk has two railway stations; Falkirk High is situated on the main Glasgow-Edinburgh line, with connections to either city running on a 15-minute frequency. Falkirk Grahamston lies on the Edinburgh-Stirling line, and serves stations to the North. There is also a daily direct service to London (King's Cross) provided by GNER, and the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston also calls here.
