"A village and a parish of S Linlithgowshire. The village stands, on the left bank of the Brox Burn, 1 1/2 mile W by S of the town of Broxburn, and 7 furlongs N by W of Uphall station on the North British railway, this being 13 5/8 miles WSW of Edinburgh, and 5 ¾ E by N of Bathgate. It has a post office, with money order, savings bank, and telegraph departments, a public hall, a parish church hall, two inns, one of them a well-known coaching stage.
The parish, containing also the town of Broxburn, originally was known as Strathbroke ('valley of the brock or badger'); and it took that name from the Burn of Brocks or Brocks' Burn, corrupted now into Brox Burn. It is bounded NE and E by Kirkliston, SE and S by Kirknewton and Midcalder in Edinburghshire, and W and NW by Livingston and Ecclesmachen. Its utmost length, from ENE to WSW, is 4 1/4 miles; its utmost width 3 1/2 miles; and its area is 4561 1/4 acres, of which 20 1/4 are water."
Extract from Groomes Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland c.1895.
The population of Uphall Parish recorded at the time of each Census was as follows :
Census Year | Population | Census Year | Population | |
1801 | 786 | 1891 | 8653 | |
1811 | 800 | 1901 | 10535 | |
1821 | 1016 | 1911 | 12766 | |
1831 | 1254 | 1921 | 12497 | |
1841 | 1467 | 1931 | 11119 | |
1851 | 1331 | 1941 | (no census due to WWII) | |
1861 | 1507 | 1951 | 11114 | |
1871 | 2772 | 1961 | 10719 | |
1881 | 4812 | 1971 | 12376 |