Avonbridge

Avonbridge (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Abhainne) is a small village which lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south-southeast of the town of Falkirk. Avonbridge sits just inside the council boundary line between Falkirk and West Lothian councils.

Avonbridge

The centre of Avonbridge, with a war memorial in the foreground
Avonbridge
Location within the Falkirk council area
Area0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2)
Population652 [1] (2011 census)
 Density5,927/sq mi (2,288/km2)
OS grid referenceNS911726
 Edinburgh21.5 mi (34.6 km) E
 London340 mi (550 km) SSE
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townFALKIRK
Postcode districtFK1 2
Dialling code01324
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Websitefalkirk.gov.uk

The village lies at the junction of the B8028 and B825 roads and is a bridging point over the River Avon, hence the name Avonbridge. At the time of the 2011 census, a population of 652 residents was recorded.[1]

History

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Avonbridge was home to small scale open cast coal mining.[2] The village also had a brickworks in the mid twentieth century, "Avonbridge Brickworks", but today no longer exists.[2] Nowadays the village is largely residential although Avonbridge is the base of operations for "Stevenson Brothers" a haulage company, whose bright orange heavy goods vehicles transport goods all over the United Kingdom.

Toponymy

The name Avonbridge derives from the fact that the village crosses a river. The affix "avon" is often found in the Celtic language which denotes the presence of a river,[3] in this case the River Avon. This is found in Scottish Gaelic as "abhainn";[3] Drochaid Abhainne literally means Bridge of the River.

See also

References

  1. Population and Household Estimates 2011 www.falkirk.gov.uk Retrieved 2017-04-13
  2. Falkirk Local History Society, Avonbridge. Retrieved 2011-04-13
  3. Iain Mac an Tàilleir 2003 Archived September 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine www.scottish.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-02
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