Bonnybridge (; ) is a village in the

Falkirk council area Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central r ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is west of

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, north-east of

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...

and south-southwest of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. The village is situated near the Bonny Water which runs through the town and lies north of the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allow ...

. To the south-east of Bonnybridge is a well-preserved section of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

, and the remnants of

Rough Castle Fort Rough Castle Fort is a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall roughly 2 kilometres south east of Bonnybridge near Tamfourhill in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. Context The Antonine Wall dates fr ...

, the most complete of the surviving

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

of the wall. According to the 2001 Census, the population stands at 6,870 residents.Comparative Population Profile: Bonnybridge Locality
, www.scrol.gov.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-13 However, the Bonnybridge settlement area, which includes

Banknock Banknock () is a village within the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. The village is west-southwest of Falkirk, east-northeast of Kilsyth and north-northeast of Cumbernauld. Banknock is located on the Bonny Water, north of the For ...

, Denny,

Dunipace Dunipace () is a village in the west of the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is south of Stirling and north-west of Falkirk. The village is situated on the north bank of the River Carron and adjoins the town of Denny, to the sout ...

and

Haggs Haggs is a small village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated south-west of Bonnybridge, north-northeast of Kilsyth and south-southwest of Denny, on the east side of the M80 motorway which separates it from Ban ...

has a total population of around 24,370.

History

Bonnybridge developed greatly during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

in the nineteenth century. Significant industries that were established include

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

ing,

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

ing,

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

manufacturing,

refractory brick In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...

manufacture and

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

distill Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective ...

ing. Particularly important for Bonnybridge was the establishment of several

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

including the famous Smith and Wellstood Foundry, which was important in introducing the American metal heating stoves to Europe under the '

Esse stoves ESSE is a United Kingdom brand of heating appliances, notable for having been, in the early 19th century, the first to bring the North American type of enclosed heating stoves to Europe. History In the 1830s, as a teenager, James Smith left Sco ...

' brand. The output from these foundries was transported via the

Forth & Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allow ...

to local markets, and also to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

for export. Bonnybridge was also particularly well served by rail, with the Glasgow to Edinburgh, Kilsyth and Bonnybridge and the

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

lines both nearby. With the canal and rail links Bonnybridge became a centre for industrial production. Bonnybridge Town Centre

The first part of the National Grid was installed at Bonnyfield on 14 July 1928. It had covered the country by 1938. National Grid 1928
/ref>

Education

The town has three

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s: Bonnybridge Primary School, Antonine Primary School and St. Joseph's R.C. Primary School. The former two are catchment primaries for

Denny High School Denny High School in Scotland is a non-denominational public secondary school. The school was opened in 1959, and moved to a new building in February 2009. The new school contains a gymnasium, swimming pool and drama studio. The school serves a ...

and the latter is within the catchment area of St. Mungo's High School.

Notable people

Ruth Connell Ruth Connell (born 20 April 1979) is a Scottish actress and producer. She is also a former professional dancer and choreographer. Connell is known for her recurring role as Rowena MacLeod in the CW series ''Supernatural'' (2014–2019). She wa ...

, theatre, television and film actress and producer * Calum Stevenson Portrait Artist of the Year 2021

References

External links

Falkirk Local History Society – Bonnybridge

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Bonnybridge

Reinstate Bonnybridge Railway Station
{{Authority control Energy history of the United Kingdom Villages in Falkirk (council area)

History

Education

Notable people

See also

References

External links