Avonbridge

Avonbridge (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Abhainne) is a small village which lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south-southeast of the town of Falkirk. Avonbridge sits just inside the council boundary line between Falkirk and West Lothian councils.

This article is about the village of Avonbridge in Scotland. For the railway bridge in Bristol, see Avon Bridge. For the thoroughbred racehorse, see Avonbridge (horse).

Avonbridge
  • Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Abhainne
  • Bridge of the River

The centre of Avonbridge, with a war memorial in the foreground
Avonbridge
Location within the Falkirk council area
Area0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2)
Population652 [1] (2011 census)
• Density5,927/sq mi (2,288/km2)
OS grid referenceNS911726
• Edinburgh21.5 mi (34.6 km) E
• London340 mi (550 km) SSE
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townFALKIRK
Postcode districtFK1 2
Dialling code01324
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Websitefalkirk.gov.uk

The village lies at the junction of the B8028 and B825 roads and is a bridging point over the River Avon, hence the name Avonbridge. At the time of the 2011 census, a population of 652 residents was recorded.[1]

History

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Avonbridge was home to small scale open cast coal mining.[2] The village also had a brickworks in the mid twentieth century, "Avonbridge Brickworks", but today no longer exists.[2] Nowadays the village is largely residential although Avonbridge is the base of operations for "Stevenson Brothers" a haulage company, whose bright orange heavy goods vehicles transport goods all over the United Kingdom.

Toponymy

The name Avonbridge derives from the fact that the village crosses a river. The affix "avon" is often found in the Celtic language which denotes the presence of a river,[3] in this case the River Avon. This is found in Scottish Gaelic as "abhainn";[3] Drochaid Abhainne literally means Bridge of the River.

See also

References
  1. Population and Household Estimates 2011 www.falkirk.gov.uk Retrieved 2017-04-13
  2. Falkirk Local History Society, Avonbridge. Retrieved 2011-04-13
  3. Iain Mac an Tàilleir 2003 Archived September 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine www.scottish.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-02
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