Banknock

Coordinates: 55°59′15″N 3°57′08″W / 55.9875°N 03.95236°W / 55.9875; -03.95236

Banknock (Scottish Gaelic: Baile nan Cnoc) is a village within the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. The village is 6.7 miles (10.8 km) west-southwest of Falkirk, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) east-northeast of Kilsyth and 3.0 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Cumbernauld.

Banknock is located on the Bonny Water, north of the Forth and Clyde canal and west of the A80 road near to the boundary of Falkirk and North Lanarkshire councils. At the time of the 2001 census, Banknock had a population of 2,529 residents.

History

There were coal mines along the north side of the valley. Cannerton Pit was one of these mines and its spoil heap, locally called 'the Bing', was a local landmark Before the railway was built, the Banknock mines were linked to the Forth & Clyde Canal by a wagon way which is still traceable today. Banknock once had a railway station on the Kilsyth and Bonnybridge railway , a line which was built to serve these mines. When these mines closed, a brickworks was set up on the Cannerton site. This busy industrial site was once an important feature but is now disused. Another employer in the village was the foundry which was at the Coneypark end of the village and owned by the Dobson family who lived in what is now the Glenskirlie House Hotel. The Glenskirlie House Hotel has recently added a fake castle turret and it has become a popular venue for weddings.