Torphichen is a small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland with a population of 570. The placename may be Gaelic in origin, e.g., "Tóir Féichín", Tor Fithichean, or Brythonic "tref fechan". The village church is said to have been founded by St. Ninian in about 400AD, a small wooden structure on the site of the present church. The Knights Hospitaller of St. John made their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen from about 1160 and the Preceptory stands as testament to their presence. Torphichen Parish "came out" in the Disruption and the village has the oldest purpose-built Free Church, erected that same year, and now the St. John's church hall. The village clustered around the church and the village Square for centuries, slowly expanding northwards, a process accelerated by the creation of the James Wood Park in 1922 and of the building of council houses from 1945 in Greenside and Bowyett. In the mid-1950s, council housing was built in Priorscroft in the north and in St. John's Place in the south of the village. At that time, the village included a branch of Bathgate Co-op Society, a miners' welfare and a residents parish council. In the early 1960s, the last council housing built in the village was erected in Northgate and Priorscroft in the north and also at Manse road in the south of the village. The 1960s and 1970s saw an expansion of the village to the south with a scattering of new private houses in Cathlaw Lane and Craigs Court. The 1990s saw building of more private homes at Priorsgrange and in the Loan but the village still has fewer than 350 dwellings. Now, the commercial life of the village is focused on the Torphichen Inn. Community events include an annual Children's Gala day and civic week, and there is a community centre and other local organisations. The Children's Gala day celebrated its Centenary in 2008 when Queen Caroline Perry was crowned by the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond MSP. Torphichen is part of the Falkirk East and Linlithgow Constituency ; Scottish Linlithgow Constituency ; and part of the Armadale and Blackridge Ward of West Lothian Council. West Lothian District Scouts have their camp site at Torphichen called The Craigs .
Notable Buildings
Torphichen Inn in its current form dates from around 1890 but has fragments of a much older building. It stands on a small square, the focus of which is the red sandstone Jubilee Fountain. The parish church dates from 1756. The graveyard contains a stone by Sir James Gowans to his parents Isabella and Walter Gowans.
The Torphichen and Bathgate Pipe Band was established in 1902, and led the parade at the very first Gala Day in 1908. The band survived two World Wars and over the following decades won a host of championship prizes, including the Grade 2World Championships in 1989. Today, is ranked amongst the world's best in the premier division of Grade 1 competition and features a roster of players drawn from all over Scotland.
Notable people
Calum Mallace, Scottish footballer presently playing for Los Angeles FC in the MLS, was born in Torphichen.
Henry Bell, engineer who introduced the first successful passenger steamboat service, the Comet, born in Torphichen.
