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{{Short description|Village in West Lothian, Scotland}}
{{for|the hamlet in England|Uphall, Dorset}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = Scotland
|static_image_name= Uphall - geograph.org.uk - 56103.jpg
|static_image_caption= Main Street, Uphall (2005)
|coordinates = {{coord|55.931|-3.508|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Uphall
|gaelic_name= Ubhalaidh
|scots_name= Uphauch
|label_position= left
|population = 
|os_grid_reference=  NT058718
|lieutenancy_scotland= [[West Lothian]]
|unitary_scotland= [[West Lothian]]
|constituency_westminster= [[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]]
|constituency_scottish_parliament= [[Linlithgow (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Linlithgow]]
|historic_county=
|post_town= BROXBURN
|postcode_district = EH52
|postcode_area= EH
|dial_code= 01506
}}

'''Uphall''' ({{langx|sco|Uphauch}}, {{langx|gd|Ubhalaidh}})<ref name=railwaynames>[http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/component/content/article/2999-list-of-railway-station-names.html List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic – NewsNetScotland]</ref> is a village in [[West Lothian]], Scotland. It forms a conurbation with [[Broxburn, West Lothian|Broxburn]] to the east, [[Dechmont]] to the west and the major town of [[Livingston, Scotland|Livingston]] to the south west. Uphall is 30 miles from [[Glasgow]] and 14 miles from [[Edinburgh]] in the [[Scottish Lowlands]]. [[Uphall Station]] and [[Pumpherston]] are separate villages that lie to the south of Uphall.

Uphall has one primary school (Uphall primary school), several grocery stores, two cemeteries, a skatepark, football fields (King George Park), a [[golf]] course, a lawn bowls club (Middleton Hall) and a selection of public houses and hotels including the Volunteer Arms, Dovehill Arms, Oatridge Hotel and Houston House Hotel.

==History==
Uphall was historically a small settlement known as Wester Strathbrock (from the Gaelic "Srath Bhroc" meaning valley of the badgers), with its neighbour Broxburn being named Easter Strathbrock.<ref name=Strathbrock>{{cite book |title=Strathbrock or the History and Antiquities of the Parish of Uphall |url=https://www.scottishshale.co.uk/DigitalAssets/pdf/LVSAV/LVSAV2016.090.pdf |author=Rev. James Primrose|location=Edinburgh |publisher=Elliot}}</ref>

The parish was centered around [[Strathbrock Castle]] (a [[Motte-and-bailey]] castle since demolished) and St Nicholas Church which were both built in the 12th century.<ref name=BU1>{{cite web |url=https://www.broxburnanduphall.com/index.php/history-records/village-origins |title=Village Origins |publisher=Broxburn and Uphall Community Website Trust|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref><ref name="CastleCanmore">{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=49274 |num2=NT07SE 2 |desc=Strathbrock Castle |access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref> Until the late 18th century, Uphall was a small rural community but the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]] triggered growth as local mining activity increased.<ref name=BU1/> The largest growth was a direct result of the discovery and exploitation of local [[oil shale]] in the area, as well as across West Lothian generally. This triggered massive growth as many people moved to the area to gain employment in the oil shale mines and associated [[shale oil extraction|oil works]]. Surrounding villages expanded rapidly as rows of miners' cottages were erected to accommodate the influx of people, who relocated from places such as the [[Scottish Highlands]] and rural [[Ireland]]. This growth continued until the oil industry went into terminal decline between the 1920s and 1960s.<ref name=BU1/>

Post war industrial development at Greendykes and East Mains Industrial Estates, coupled with new employment throughout the West Lothian district, the new town of [[Livingston, West Lothian|Livingston]] and increased commuting to Edinburgh, continued to see the village grow into a larger settlement contiguous with Broxburn in the 20th century.

==Transport==
The [[A899 road]] is the primary road through Uphall, connecting the village with nearby [[Livingston, West Lothian|Livingston]] to the south-east and [[Broxburn]] to the west. The [[A89 road]] and [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8 Motorway]] lie immediately to the south of the village. The nearest railway station is [[Uphall railway station]] which lies to the south of Uphall at the smaller separate [[Uphall Station]] village.

[[Lothian Country]] operates multiple bus service that serve Uphall:

* X18 - Edinburgh - Corstorphine - Broxburn - Bathgate - Armadale - Whitburn
* N18 - Edinburgh - Corstorphine - Broxburn - Bathgate (Weekend Night Service)
* N43 - Edinburgh - Queensferry - Winchburgh - Broxburn - Dechmont (Night Service)
* 72 - Fauldhouse - Whitburn - Livingston - Broxburn - Winchburgh - Kirkliston

==Notable buildings==
St Nicholas (Strathbock) Church is a mid-12th-century church with a small tower, a nave and large chancel (enlarged in the 13th century).<ref name=BU2>{{cite web |url=https://www.broxburnanduphall.com/index.php/history-records/st-nicholas-church |title=St Nicholas Church |publisher=Broxburn and Uphall Community Website Trust|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref><ref name=StNich>{{cite web |url=https://www.stnicholascenter.org/gazetteer/27 |title=Kirk of St. Nicholas Strathbrock |publisher=St Nicholas Center|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> The church is first recorded in 1270 and has been expanded over the centuries, with additional aisles added in the 17th and 19th centuries.<ref name=STA>{{cite web |url=https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/corpusofscottishchurches/site.php?id=158926 |title=Corpus of Scottish Churches - St Nicholas Church |publisher=St Andrews University|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> The church was extensively restored in 1937. The church has a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] 12th century doorway and some of the oldest church bells in West Lothian, with one dated to 1503.<ref name=StNich/><ref name=ScotChurch>{{cite web |url=https://scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/church/strathbrock-st-nicholas-uphall/ |title=St Nicholas Church Uphall |date=24 September 2017 |publisher=Scotlands Churches Trust|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref>

The Oatridge hotel on the main street of Uphall was built in 1810 and is a former coaching inn (previously named the Uphall Inn) on the [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire|Airdrie]] to [[Bathgate]] to [[Edinburgh]] turnpike route.<ref name=Oatridge>{{cite web |url=https://theoatridgehotel.co.uk/about-us/ |title=About Us|publisher=The Oatridge Hotel|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref><ref name=BU3>{{cite web |url=https://www.broxburnanduphall.com/index.php/history-records/the-uphall-inn |title=The Uphall Inn |publisher=Broxburn and Uphall Community Website Trust|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref>

Middleton Hall is an 18th-century house currently operating as a [[Nursing home|care home]].<ref name=Can2>{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=49280 |num2=NT07SE 25 |desc=Uphall, Middleton Hall|access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref> The hall was built circa 1710 and reconstructed significantly in the late 19th century as the Headquarters of [[Scottish Oils Ltd]].<ref name=Can2/> The adjacent streets (Westhall Gardens, Middleton Road and Middleton Avenue) were later developed in the 1920s as a small garden community (based on the [[Garden city movement]]) for workers of the Oil company.<ref name=Can2/><ref name=ShaleT>{{cite web |url=https://shaletrail.co.uk/shale-stories/middleton-hall-garden-city/ |title=Middleton Hall Garden City |publisher=Shale Trail|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref>

Kirkhill House in Uphall was the principal residence of [[David Stewart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan]] in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The house fell into ruin when Erskine moved to [[Dryburgh]] and it has only recently been reconstructed as a private residence. Among the features were a remarkable accurate scale model of the [[Solar System]] in the gardens surrounding the house, and an accompanying [[Kirkhill Astronomical Pillar|astronomical pillar]] now located in Almondell country Park.<ref name=Strathbrock/><ref>{{cite journal |first= Earl of |last=Buchan
|year=1793|title=Account of the Parish of Uphall|journal=Archaeologia Scotica|volume=1 |pages=139–155|doi=10.9750/arch.scot.1.139-155
|url=http://soas.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/arch-scot/article/view/369}}</ref>  At the centre of the model the Sun was represented by a stone globe 6 feet in diameter and the six planets known in 1776 were represented by small globes distributed around the gardens at appropriate distances. Erskine, his titles and his model are preserved in modern names such as Buchan Road, Buchan Port, Buchan Arms, Cardross Road and Globe Park.

[[File:Strathbrock Kirk.jpg|thumb|right|St Nicholas (Strathbrock) kirk, on the north side of Uphall]]
In the west of Uphall, Houston House is a four-storey [[Harling (wall finish)|white harl]] covered 16th-century tower house and hotel.<ref name=Can1>{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=49264 |num2=NT07SE 10 |desc=Houston House |access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref><ref name=HoustonHouse>{{cite web |url=https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/scotland/edinburgh/macdonald-houstoun-house |title=Houston House|publisher=MacDonald Hotels|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> Originally built for the local laird, the house was later purchased and expanded by [[John Shairp (lawyer)|John Shairp]], an advocate to [[Mary, Queen of Scots]].<ref name=Can1/> The house was restored by the architect Ian Lindsay in the 1940s as his home.<ref name=Can1/> In the 1970s, the house was purchased, refurbished and extended as a hotel.<ref name=Can1/>

==Culture and recreation==
King George V's field is a {{convert|4.65|hectare|acre|adj=on}} public open space built as part of the [[King George's Fields]] programme.

In the west of the village, Uphall Golf Club is an 18-hole subscription/private membership [[golf course]] founded in 1895.<ref name=Uphallgolf>{{cite web |url=https://www.uphallgolfclub.com/history/ |title=History|publisher=Uphall Golf Club|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref> In February 2021, the Golf Club was substantially damaged by a fire which took 12 hours to extinguish.<ref name="Fire1">{{cite web|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/uphall-golf-club-major-fire-west-lothian-golf-course-3126441| title=Uphall Golf Club: Major fire at West Lothian golf course | date=6 February 2021 |publisher=Edinburgh Evening News |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Fire2">{{cite web|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/great-deal-clubs-history-has-been-lost-uphall-golf-club-and-its-members-react-fire-which-devastated-their-clubhouse-3127026 | title='A great deal of the club's history has been lost': Uphall Golf Club and its members react to the fire which devastated their clubhouse | date=7 February 2021 |publisher=Edinburgh Evening News |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Fire3">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-55962834| title=West Lothian golf club 'devastated' by overnight blaze | date=6 February 2021 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref>

Middleton Hall Bowling Club is a local [[bowls]] club with 1930s origins.<ref name=MidBowling>{{cite web |url=http://www.middletonhallbowlingclub.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1609164549.6818389892578125000000 |title=Club History|publisher=Middleton Hall Bowling Club|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref>

Uphall previously had a public hall (built 1873) that became the local cinema house in the 1920s, before closing in 1974 (the site is now occupied by a car showroom).<ref name="Sarna">{{cite journal |last1=VelezSarna |first1=Maria |date=2011 |title=Mapping Film Exhibition In Scotland Before Permanent Cinemas |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/77611977.pdf |journal=Post Script |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=25–37 |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="Cinema">{{cite web|url=https://calm.abdn.ac.uk/museums/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=NA22036 | title=Uphall Public Hall and Cinema |publisher=University of Aberdeen |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref> The cinema archives are held by West Lothian Council.<ref name="Sarna"/>

==Education==
Uphall Primary School provides [[Education in Scotland|primary education]] for the community. The current school was constructed in the 1960s by Bamber Hall & Partners and has since been expanded.<ref name=UPS1>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=405962 |title=Building 405862 |publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> Before the 1960s the original primary school was located further west on a site on the corner of Strathbrock place and St.Andrews drive.<ref name=Strathbrock/> This site has since been redeveloped as the Uphall Community Education Centre. The building incorporates a hall, youth room, playgroup room and coffee lounge.<ref name=CommunityC>{{cite web |url=https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/35872/Uphall-Community-Centre |title=Uphall Community Centre|publisher=West Lothian Council|access-date=2020-12-28}}</ref> While there are no facilities for secondary education in Uphall itself, [[Broxburn Academy]] in Broxburn serves as the closest secondary school.

==Notable residents==
*The Rev Alexander MacAndrew Gillespie OBE [[FRSE]] FRCPE FSAS FRGS (d.1984) minister and physician.<ref name=Graves1>{{cite web |url=https://billiongraves.com/grave/alexander-MacAndrew-Gillespie/7128442 |title=Alexander MacAndrew Gillespie |publisher=Billion Graves|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref>
*[[Paul di Resta]], the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters|DTM]] champion 2010, and Formula One race driver in 2011–13 with the Force India F1 Team was born in Uphall on April 16, 1986.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons category|Uphall, West Lothian}}
* [http://www.broxburnanduphall.com Broxburn and Uphall Community Website]
* [http://www.buta.org.uk Broxburn and Uphall Traders Association]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20011012232119/http://www.strathbrockparish.net/ Strathbrock Parish Church, Uphall]}}
* [http://www.uphallburials.com Uphall Cemetery Burials]
* [http://www.uphallcc.org.uk Uphall Community Council]
* [http://www.uphallsouthchurch.org.uk Uphall South Parish Church]
* {{oscoor gbx|NT059719}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in West Lothian]]
[[Category:Parishes in West Lothian]]