The Village of Longridge lies about a Mile up hill and due South of the West Lothian Town of Whitburn. Situated at the top of the hill at 800 feet above sea level, Longridge remains the highest village in West Lothian. Originally known as Kirkhill, the village sat on the long ridge, or the Lang Rigg as it was known locally.
Longridge – The Hill with the Kirk
The small hilltop village of Longridge, often known locally as ‘Blink City’ (The joke being that it’s so small that if you blink, you’ll miss it) was a Prime example of an Independent Parish Town seceded from the greater Parish of Bathgate in the late 18th century. Originally ‘Lang Rigg’, the name of the town is derived from. Since its early formation, Longridge has always been ‘The Hill with the Kirk’ with its steepled Hilltop peak. It echoed an authorative presence over the surrounding area of the hills slopes.
Early beginnings
The First building in Longridge besides the few small farm settlements was the Church, or ‘Kirk’ that was Established in 1772. This building with its formidable looking silhouette sat nonchalantly on the top of the hill and its solitary peak could be seen for miles as it stood boldly exercising its authority over the landscape. At 800 Feet above sea level, Longridge is the highest Village in west Lothian with views for miles. On a clear day, you can see the Firth of Forth.
The Village was First mentioned on a 1773 map as ‘Lang Rigg Farm’ situated upon the Old Lanark to Linlithgow.
The Kirk on the Hill
The Kirk of Longridge was Established in 1772 by the Reverend John Brown with the help of a local Wealthy Benefactor, Sir William Waddell of Crofthead. The congregation of Longridge had a strong Anti-Eranstianist view and the Kirk was to be the Heart of the Community since the towns establishment. In 1773, was granted its own Parish Status, a breakaway from the previous overlordship of the Bathgate Parish.
The Reverend John Brown. by all accounts had a strong relationship with his Parishioners. He was well known to be a practical man with little patience for trivialities or ‘Lulamagres’. yet, he was said to have great patience with his Parishioners spiritual and needs and welfare. A Man devoted to his congregation and ‘to God’s work’ who made sure to call on each of them regularly.
The Age of Steam
The Cluech Ironworks at Morningside . In 1845, the Coltness, Wilsontown and Morningside Railway extended its Scotch Gauge track to Longridge where it established the Terminus Train Station. This narrow gauged Track system was specifically used for commercial stock. There was a whole scribble of these railways all around the area at the time of the Industrial revolution where Hundreds of Thousands of Tons of Coal and Iron were being hauled off from their mines to the smelting plants. The opening of Longridge Station in 1845 saw One of the few Tracks of its type that allowed passengers to board, albeit a stark contrast to todays health and safety laws.
However, just Three years later in 1848, the station was to close again due to compatibility issues with Scotch Gauge Track and the newly adopted ‘Standard Gauge’ was adopted as the national standard rail. Longridge was Stationless again for a couple of years.
Then, in 1850, the Coltness, Wilsontown & Morningside Railway reopened and extended its line once again. This time, the track would run all the way to East Whitburn, where soon after by Pottishaw, it would join the Glasgow to Edinburgh mainline at the massive Junction by the Durhamtoun Chemical Works. Once again, a Train station was opened up at Longridge. But this time, it had been relocated to its site down the hill from the village itself where remnants of the track are still visible.But, this new railway line was only to last a mere 12 years until 1862 when it closed and Lonridge \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\g
Down in the Ground
As you would expect, with all this Black Rock and Orange Ore being carted away from the area to the Cluech Ironworks, there was no shortage of Coal and Iron mining going on in the locale throughout the 19th century. Polkemmet Moor to the villages Immediate North west alone was home to numerous mining operations. So there was No Shortage of work for the men of Longridge. The windswept village was situated upon a Gold mine of Black Gold.
Education
In 1850, Longridge saw its First school open in the village. This was a kinda Co-operative affair where the residents all chipped in, and alongside a little financial inejction from local benefactors we able to establish Longridge School.
A Beacon on the Turnpike
In 1891, the residents of Longridge appealed to the Highway works department for Street lighting on its main street which was also the Lanark to Linlithgow Turnpike. They highlighted the fact that this streetlighting would not only benefit the residents of longridge, but also the broader population who used the Turnpike and would benefit from its well lit streets on its hill top situation. Like a beacon on the Hill for Travellers to see from miles around.
A Community Hub
In 1909, Longridge celebrated the opening of what went on to be a community hub for Longridge – The Baillie Institute. The Kirks Minister Reverend Gibson recognised the need for somewhere the working miners could go for recreation. He petitioned Lady Baillie who agreed and had the building of the Baillie Institute commissioned. It was a Grand big building, sat proudly on the tip of the hill on the main street opposite the Kirk itself.
Timber Town
In 1939, West Lothian County Council developed a Housing experiment in Longridge when they constructed 16 residential houses. These houses were made of Timber and were constructed from a Model based on a Canadian and Swedish styles of housing.
Kicking Up a Stink
Pre 1930s and 40’s, the system for getting rid of refuse and sewerage fir rural towns, villages and Steadings was still medieval.
Longridge Today
Today, Longridge boast a population of over 1100 people. With its latest housing developments at Curling pond lane and Rashierigg court, the village is almost Twice the size it was at the turn of the Millennium. The village is no longer a place where people Live and work. But a commuter based Village where people go home to after work in the nearby towns or cities. The recently opened M8 Motorway Junction at the Heartlands just about a mile down the hill in Whitburn , makes access to both Glasgow and Edinburgh easy.
However, all the To’ing and Fro’ing has left the commercial element of the village malnourished. In 2022, the local Shop that served as the Village Newsagent, Off License and Post office finally closed its doors. Today, besides the Chip Shop, there are no Shops in Longridge at all. So residents must Travel to the nearby Towns of Fauldhouse, Whitburn or the Village of Stoneyburn to find a shop.
But despite what may appear to be a soulless place, devoid of its community hubs like this, Longridge has strong community. With the rise of people working from home in the past few years, more and more residents spend their days in the village. So who knows what the future brings for the village. But by all accounts, it would certainly seem to be gearing up for a positive One.
Conversion – aug 1827
June 1845 – open to passengers and commerce
1848 – closed
May 1850 – Relocated railway open
Sept 1862 – Closed permanently
No health n safety
4.6 inch wide
1850 – First School opened semi privately
1882 – Children sent to Crofthead in Fauldhouse as decided in whitburn by the deducation board.
Ronaldson opened up church annex as a school with village funding. This made whitburn school board reverse their decision and Build a school in longride
1891 – Street lighting was assed and a committee was formed to lay gas street lighting which was expensive. The records show that the residents reached out to local benefactors highlighting its Turnpike benefits.
Feb 1909 – The Baillie institute was opened. Opening presided by R. Allan was a massive turnout.
1910 – Mrs sharp of commercial hotel had the ice rink built to host skating tournaments.
1939 – The Timber built houses in Longridge were contracted as part of a Canadian & Swedish style model of housing being experimented by the West Lothian County Council. They were designed to let in as much sunlight as possible
1949 – Long term resident James Taylor campaigns for better sanitary measures to be taken in Longridge where farm and household waste and middens were being kept only yards from peoples residencies causing disease. The midden clearance scheme by the government had been abandoned so Longridge was stinking. This led to modernisation of refuse collection by the council.
1918 – Miners Strike
1985 – Polkemmet Colliery closes permanently.
2001 – pop 703
2011 – pop 903
Today over 1100
2022 – The Post office and last of Longridges shops closed its doors leaving Longridge with No shops. Just a Chippy.
Succession of 1773 led by figured like The Erskine’s. This is where the people rejected the church state control that led everything
The reverends John Brown 1777 for 55 years. A massive presence both locally and nationwide. A keen horserider who would travel all over Britain to preach.