Linlithgowshire

Linlithgowshire, or WEST LOTHIAN, a Scottish county, washed on the north for 17 miles by the Firth of Forth, and elsewhere bounded by Edinburgh, Lanark, and Stirling shires. Its length south-westward is 22 miles, its average breadth 7 miles, and its area 127 sq. m. The only large streams are the Almond on the south-eastern, and the Avon on the western boundary; and the principal eminences are Cairnnaple (1016 feet), Cocklerue (912), Dechmont Law (686), and Glower-o'er'em (559), the last with a monument to General Adrian Hope, who fell in the Indian Mutiny. The rocks are carboniferous, with igneous intrusions; and coal has been largely mined since the 12th century, as also are ironstone, fireclay, and shale. Excellent sandstone is quarried at Binny. The soil is generally fertile, except to the south and south-west, where it is moorish or rocky; and as much as 73 per cent. of the whole area is in cultivation, whilst woods cover 4982 acres. Towns, noticed separately, are Linlithgow, South Queensferry, Bathgate, Bo'ness, and Broxburn; among the mansions are Hopetoun, Dalmeny, Dundas, and Kinneil; and the antiquities include prehistoric and Roman remains, the Romanesque church of Dalmeny, the castles of Barnbougle, Blackness, Niddry, &c., and the preceptory at Torphichen of the Knights of St John. The county returns one member to parliament. Pop. (1801) 17,844; (1841) 26,872; (1891) 52,808. See Sibbald's History of Linlithgowshire (1710), and Small's Castles and Mansions of the Lothians (1883).