Overview of Whitburn

One of the principal towns of West Lothian, Whitburn is situated on the Rover Almond and to the north of the M8 motorway, 8 miles (12 km) west of Livingston. Originally a crossroads settlement, it developed as a coal and iron mining town in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in association with the Polkemmet Colliery which was sunk in 1915 and operated from 1922 until the mid-1980s. The Baillie family, founders of the Baillie Institute community centres, were associated with the now demolished Polkemmet House. There is a 9-hole golf course at nearby Polkemmet Country Park and notable buildings include the parish church (1729), the Burgh Hall (c.1830) and Whitburn Academy (1967). In the churchyard there is a memorial to Elizabeth Burns, daughter of the poet Robert Burns.