Dechmont

Human settlement in Scotland

Dechmont

Location within West Lothian

Population620 (2020)^[1]OS grid referenceNT039708Council area

West Lothian

Lieutenancy area

West Lothian

CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townBROXBURNPostcode districtEH52Dialling code01506PoliceScotlandFire Scottish AmbulanceScottish UK Parliament

Livingston

Scottish Parliament

Linlithgow

List of places: UK; Scotland

55°55′16″N 3°32′13″W / 55.921°N 3.537°W / 55.921; -3.537

Dechmont (Gaelic: Deagh Mhonadh) is a small village located near Uphall, West Lothian in Scotland. Bangour Village Hospital is located to the west of Dechmont. It has an approximate population of 989 people. Its postal code is EH52.^[2] An alleged alien encounter took place in 1979 in the nearby Dechmont Woods.^[3]

The village has a small infant/primary school providing learning for pre-school through to primary three pupils. In 2012 the school roll was thirteen which consisted of five primary one pupils; four primary two pupils and four primary three pupils as well as sixteen pre-school infants^[4]

Lothian Country operates daytime bus service X18 and night service N18 between Edinburgh and Whitburn via Broxburn, Bathgate and Armadale.

Notable residents

Several notable persons born between the 1948 and 1990 are described as being 'from' Dechmont as per their birth certificate, but have only a tenuous link to the town due to being delivered at Bangour General Hospital which operated in that period;^[5]^[6] most children born here would have grown up elsewhere in West Lothian.

Scott Arfield is a professional footballer who has played with Falkirk and Huddersfield Town and Burnley and now currently plays with Rangers. He is a former captain of the Canada national team.
Stephen Gallacher - professional golfer, 4-time winner on the European tour and Ryder Cup Star was born in Dechmont in 1974.
Edward Meldrum, the business partner of James Young bought Old Dechmont House in 1865 and rebuilt it as Dechmont Castle in 1869. He died there in 1875.^[7]
Hannah Rarity - Scots traditional singer who was raised in Dechmont.^[8]

References

^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
^ "Dechmont, West Lothian Information". postcode-info.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
^ Livingston Incident Archived 2008-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ [https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/linda-first-baby-born-bangour-2630642 Linda was first baby born in Bangour maternity unity, Daily Record / West Lothian Courier, 3 July 2008
^ Scottish fact of the day: Bangour Village Hospital, The Scotsman, 2 December 2014
^ "Memory Lane: The story of Dechmont Castle". 19 March 2017.
^ "Ones to watch in 2018: folk singer Hannah Rarity". www.scotsman.com. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2021.