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December 11, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum

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Scotlands Citys & Towns Linlithgow Linlithgow (/lɪnˈlɪθɡoʊ/; Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Iucha, Scots: Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's alternative name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal. Linlithgow's patron saint is Saint Michael and its motto is St. Michael is kinde to straingers. A statue of the saint holding the burgh coat of arms stands on the High Street. Etymology The name Linlithgow comes from the Old British lynn llaith cau meaning "lake in the damp hollow". Originally "Linlithgow" referred to the loch itself, the town being known as just "Lithgow" (hence the common surname). Folk etymology associated this name with the Gaelic liath-chù meaning "grey dog", likely the origin of the black bitch on the burgh arms. History The chief historic attraction of Linlithgow are the remains of Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots, and probably Scotland's finest surviving late medieval secular building. The present palace was started (on an older site) in 1424 by James I of Scotland. It was burnt in 1746, and, whilst unroofed, it is still largely complete in terms of its apartments (though very few of the original furnishings survived. Linlithgow was also the site of the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge at the western edge of the town. The bridge no longer stands. The roadway to Linlithgow over the River Avon is described by scholars as a lifted road. Besides the palace, a second attraction, standing adjacent, is 15th century St. Michael's Church. Its western tower originally had a distinctive stone crown spire, of the type seen also on St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, or Newcastle Cathedral, but it was removed in the early 19th century. In 1964 a replacement and controversial spire in aluminium in a modern style by Scots architect Sir Basil Spence (Clarification needed: Credited elsewhere to sculptor Geoffrey Clarke), representing Christ's crown of thorns, was added. Many historic buildings line the High Street. On the south side ground levels rise and several historic "wynds " and "closes" as found in Edinburgh still exist. The most prominent space is on axis with the road to the palace. This contains the Cross Well of 1807 (redesigned by James Haldane which proclaims itself to be a replica of its 1628 predecessor. To its north stands the Town House of 1668 by the master mason John Smith. This replaced a previous hall demolished by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650. Much of its original interior was removed in a modernisation project of 1962. Go to Wikipedia for full History

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