Polmont

Polmont

Top: Parkhill House, Middle: Union Canal, Bottom left: Old Polmont Reservoir and golf course Bottom right: Meadowbank Library.
Polmont
Polmont shown within the Falkirk council area
Population 5,321 [1]
OS grid reference NS936788
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town FALKIRK
Postcode district FK2
Dialling code 01324
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Polmont (Scottish Gaelic: Poll-Mhonadh) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village.

Due to its situation in Central Scotland, many locations can be seen from Polmont, ranging from the Ochil Hills and the River Forth, to Cairnpapple Hill. Although giving its name to Polmont Young Offenders Institution, the prison is in fact in Reddingmuirhead.

History

The name Polmont derives from the Scottish Gaelic term Poll-Mhonadh, which translates into English as Pool of the Hill.

Old Polmont was situated on a raised beach overlooking the Firth of Forth and the Ochils. There were two Roman temporary marching camps, one on either side of what is now Grangemouth Golf Course: on the western side was Little Kerse,[4] and on the eastern side was Polmont Hill.[5] Nearby, at Mumrills,[6] was the largest fort on the Roman Antonine Wall. This fort, embankment and water source has been marked out and can be visited in Polmont Woods, close to the M9 motorway.

Polmont was originally included within the parish of Falkirk, but was severed under the authority of the Court of Teinds (teind is the Scots word for tithe), and erected into an independent parish, in 1724. Nothing of the early history of Polmont has been recorded.[7]

The newer, modern Polmont has developed mainly from the 1970s with the Gilston Estate, and further up towards the railway and station, now adjoining the village of Brightons.

During World War II, The now demolished St Margaret's School for girls was used by the Polish forces as a signals training school and soldiers from various Polish units were assigned to learn the trade of signalling.

Politics

Polmont is within the jurisdiction of Falkirk Council, although the suggestion of east Polmont changing hands for the purposes of the Westminster Parliamentary Constituency to Linlithgow and East Falkirk arose, but was soon discounted . In May 2007, the Polmont area merged as part of an expanded Lower Braes seat, as proposed for Falkirk Council by the Scottish Executive.

Lord Polmont is a subsidiary title of the Duke of Hamilton. This title was originally given to the 2nd Duke of Hamilton in 1639.

One of the current councillors for Polmont (and the rest of the Lower Braes Ward) in Falkirk Council is Scottish Conservative Councillor Malcolm Nicol,[8] who has held the role since 2000 following the death of his predecessor Frank Hodge. He previously represented a seat in Grangemouth, originally being elected in 1983. SNP Councillor Steven Jackson has also represented Polmont, which is part of the larger Lower Braes Ward, since May 2007, being elected for the first time through the Single Transferrable Vote system.

Polmont is unusual for a town in the Falkirk area in that a local by-election in 2000 saw a Conservative candidate returned with over half of the popular vote.[9]

Economy

The economy of Polmont is based mainly upon relatively small scale private enterprise, such as pubs, cafes, hotels, take-aways and convenience stores. The majority of these are based in or around Polmont shopping centre, the focal point of local custom. Agriculture is also a central industry, with arable land consuming a sizeable proportion of the area. Polmont is home to the controversial Avondale Landfill, a large employer on the east of the village.

Due to the proximity to Grangemouth, a number of the population work at the Grangemouth refineries and port. Few of the population work in Polmont itself, leaving it something of a commuter town, largely to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

There are several hotels in the area, with the most well known being the Inchyra Grange, a redevelopment from one of the area's many former mansions.

Transport

Inchyra Grange Hotel, a redevelopment of one of the area's former mansions

Polmont railway station is located on the Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line. In 1984 a train collided with a cow that had strayed onto the rail line near Polmont. The crash left 13 people dead and 61 others injured.

The M9 motorway runs through the village between Polmont and Old Polmont, with two exit points on the east and west sides. There are numerous bus stops throughout the village, primarily situated on Polmont Main Street, which provide direct bus services to Edinburgh, Falkirk and Stirling. The nearest airport, Edinburgh Airport, is located approximately 17 miles (27 kilometres) to the east.

Polmont Old Parish Church

Culture

Polmont Parish Church was designed by John Tait in 1844.[10]

Polmont is a parish and its religious community is primarily Christian, being home to a Church of Scotland in Old Polmont.[11] The area also has a Christian denominational presence in the form of the Church of the Brethren and the Religious Society of Friends.[12]

Scottish rock band Glasvegas have a song entitled 'Polmont On My Mind' on their debut album 'Glasvegas'.

Sport

Football

Polmont is home to Polmont F.C., an amateur football club.[13] The club currently play in the Stirling & District AFA Division One as of the 2014–15 season. The club play their home games at Meadowbank Bank, St. Margaret's in the east of the village. There was once a junior club representing the area, Polmont Athletic,[14] but the club failed to last the distance and fizzled out after merely a few years. There have been no attempts at creating a junior or senior team since this experiment.

Farmland in Polmont looking towards Grangemouth industry

The most famous sporting export of Polmont is Alex Raisbeck, who spent several years captaining Liverpool. He also represented Scotland on eight occasions, and was considered to have been one of the finest players of his generation, dating back to 1898.[15] He captained Liverpool to their first ever English championship title in 1901 and did so again five years later. He is considered one of the club's greatest ever captains, ahead of many big name players. A memorial trophy named after Raisbeck is completed annually by Polmont F.C. The inaugural trophy was contested between Polmont CAFC and Linlithgow Thistle F.C. in a somewhat one sided affair with the visitors comfortably taking the honours on the day.

The highest-profile Polmontarian currently playing at senior level is Derek Niven, formerly of Chesterfield.[16]

Other sports

Despite its name, Grangemouth Golf Club is located on the outskirts of Polmont.[17] Ironically, there is also a Polmont Golf Club, which is situated not in Polmont, but in nearby Maddiston.

Within the boundaries of Grangemouth Golf Club is Millhall Reservoir, which is now a fishery. To the east of the clubhouse is Polmont Ski Centre, which includes an artificial ski slope.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011. , Population estimate of Polmont (2009).
  2. ↑ "Polmont, Stirlingshire, Scotland". FamilySearch. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Stirlingshire". Old Roads of Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "OS 25 inch map 1892–1949, with Bing opacity slider". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Polmont Camps Temporary Marching Camps". Roman Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "OS 25 inch map 1892–1949, with Bing opacity slider". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  7. ↑ map.http://maps.nls.uk/atlas/thomson/view/?rsid=74400119&sid=74400119&mid=453 http://maps.nls.uk/atlas/thomson/view/?rsid=74401093&sid=74401093&mid=880
  8. ↑ "Falkirk Council: Councillor Malcolm Nicol". Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Falkirk Council By-Election 22nd June 2000 Ward 28 : Polmont" (PDF). 22 June 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Goold, David. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects – DSA Architect Biography Report (April 4, 2018, 1:55 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  11. ↑ Morrison), Polmont Old and Iain. "Polmont Old Parish Church". www.polmontold.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Polmont Quaker Meeting – Quakers in Scotland". www.quakerscotland.org. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  13. ↑ http://www.polmontfc.co.uk/
  14. ↑ "scottish-football-historical-archive.com". scottish-football-historical-archive.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 August 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2005.
  16. ↑ "Chesterfield – Team – Profiles – Derek Niven". world.chesterfield-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Grangemouth Golf Club". www.scottishgolfcourses.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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