Kirknewton, West Lothian
Kirknewton
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 View of Main Street, Kirknewton, West Lothian |
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 Kirknewton
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| Kirknewton shown within West Lothian | |
| Population | 2,267 |
| OS grid reference | NT112669 |
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| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Kirknewton |
| Postcode district | EH27 |
| Dialling code | 01506 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Kirknewton (Scots: Kirknewtoun, Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais a' Bhaile Ùir) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. The population of the Kirknewton Community Council district is 2200, which includes the village and surrounding areas. It lies south of the A71 from Edinburgh to Livingston, and north of the A70, the high-level road that runs along the north side of the Pentland Hills from Edinburgh to Carnwath and Lanark. Much of the village stands back from the B7031, which links the two main "A" roads.
The earliest signs of settlement in the area are the remains of Iron Age forts on Kaimes Hill and Dalmahoy Hill, craggy summits about a mile east of Kirknewton. In slightly more recent times, Kirknewton House, which lies just to the south of the village, had its origins (as Meadowbank House) in the 17th century. The current house is a reworking of the original by the architect William Playfair for Alexander Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank in 1835. Kirknewton House is screened by trees from nearby roads and from the village itself. The most obvious evidence of its existence is the entrance lodge beside the start of the drive to the house at the south end of the village.
Kirknewton stood at the south eastern corner of the large area of West Lothian which was transformed from the 1860s by the oil shale industry, with the nearest shale mine lying just to the north west of the village, between it and East Calder. Shale from here was taken to the huge oil shale works at Pumpherston for processing.
During World War II, the Royal Air Force built a military airfield at Whitemoss, a mile south east of Kirknewton. RAF Kirknewton, as it was known, was home to a variety of units during the war and, like many other military airfields, fell quiet afterwards. In 1952 it became home to a number of small United States Air Force units tasked with providing mobile radio facilities to the USAF in Britain. The USAF left in 1966, and today Kirknewton airfield is home to a RAF(V) Gliding Unit, 661(RAF Kirknewton)VGS.
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