Uphall (, ) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn to the east, Dechmont to the west and the major town of Livingston to the south west. Uphall is 30 miles from Glasgow and 14 miles from Edinburgh in the Scottish Lowlands. Uphall Station and Pumpherston are separate villages that lie to the south of Uphall.
Uphall has one primary school (Uphall primary school), several grocery stores, two cemeteries, a skatepark, football fields (King George Park), a golf course, a lawn bowls club (Middleton Hall) and a selection of public houses and hotels including the Volunteer Arms, Dovehill Arms, Oatridge Hotel and Houston House Hotel.
History
Uphall was historically a small settlement known as Wester Strathbrock (from the Gaelic "Srath Bhroc" meaning valley of the badgers), with its neighbour Broxburn being named Easter Strathbrock.
The parish was centered around Strathbrock Castle (a Motte-and-bailey castle since demolished) and St Nicholas Church which were both built in the 12th century. Until the late 18th century, Uphall was a small rural community but the industrial revolution triggered growth as local mining activity increased. The largest growth was a direct result of the discovery and exploitation of local oil shale in the area, as well as across West Lothian generally. This triggered massive growth as many people moved to the area to gain employment in the oil shale mines and associated oil works. Surrounding villages expanded rapidly as rows of miners' cottages were erected to accommodate the influx of people, who relocated from places such as the Scottish Highlands and rural Ireland. This growth continued until the oil industry went into terminal decline between the 1920s and 1960s.
Post war industrial development at Greendykes and East Mains Industrial Estates, coupled with new employment throughout the West Lothian district, the new town of Livingston and increased commuting to Edinburgh, continued to see the village grow into a larger settlement contiguous with Broxburn in the 20th century.
Transport
The A899 road is the primary road through Uphall, connecting the village with nearby Livingston to the south-east and Broxburn to the west. The A89 road and M8 Motorway lie immediately to the south of the village. The nearest railway station is Uphall railway station which lies to the south of Uphall at the smaller separate Uphall Station village.
McGill's Scotland East and Lothian Country operates multiple bus service that serve Uphall:
X18 - Edinburgh - Corstorphine - Broxburn - Bathgate - Armadale - Whitburn
N18 - Edinburgh - Corstorphine - Broxburn - Bathgate - Armadale - Whitburn (Night Service) 23 - Broxburn - Pumpherston- Livingston - St. John's Hospital - Blackburn - Whitburn - Shotts 72 - Kirkliston - Winchburgh - Broxburn - Uphall - St. John's Hospital - Livingston Centre
Notable buildings
St Nicholas (Strathbock) Church is a mid 12th century church with a small tower, a nave and large chancel (enlarged in the 13th century). The church is first recorded in 1270 and has been expanded over the centuries, with additional aisles added in the 17th and 19th centuries. The church was extensively restored in 1937. The church has a Romanesque 12th century doorway and some of the oldest church bells in West Lothian, with one dated to 1503.
The Oatridge hotel on the main street of Uphall was built in 1810 and is a former coaching inn (previously named the Uphall Inn) on the Airdrie to Bathgate to Edinburgh turnpike route.
Middleton Hall is an 18th-century house currently operating as a care home. The hall was built circa 1710 and reconstructed significantly in the late 19th century as the Headquarters of Scottish Oils Ltd. The adjacent streets (Westhall Gardens, Middleton Road and Middleton Avenue) were later developed in the 1920s as a small garden community (based on the Garden city movement) for workers of the Oil company.