LINLITHGOW, a town of Scotland, capital of the county of that name, and once a place of some commercial importance, its merchants formerly dealing extensively in Baltic produce, is pleasantly situated in the vicinity of a beautiful lake, 16 miles from Edinburgh, and 31 E. from Glasgow. It consists chiefly of a single street, running E. and W. along the S. bank of the lake, containing many substantial though old houses, and is gradually improving in appearance, in consequence of the increasing number of modern buildings. The place from which Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh shot the Regent Murray is still pointed out. The name is supposed to signify "the valley of the flowing lake," from the circumstance, it is believed, that the supply of water is chiefly derived from springs flowing from its bed. It is a very ancient town, having been erected into a royal burgh by David I. The oldest charter extant, however, is in 1389 by King Robert II. It possesses the ruins of a fine old palace, the birth-place of Queen Mary, and a favourite residence of the Scottish monarchs, built at different periods, on the site of a castle erected by Edward I. of England (who with his army wintered at Linlithgow in 1301), and which was destroyed by fire in 1746. It has also a very ancient church, in the decorated Gothic style, said to have been founded by David I., but little of the original structure now remains. In its south transept appeared the vision of St John, a probable device of his nobles to dissuade James IV. from his intended war with England, as described by Pittscottie. There are four Protestant places of worship unconnected with the Established church, besides a Roman Catholic place of worship. The old fountains are objects of much curiosity. The town has a dull appearance, but the inhabitants are by no means inactive, having a considerable trade in tanning, gluemaking, and shoemaking; besides which, paper-manufacturing, calico-printing, and distillation are carried on on a large scale. It is also surrounded by extensive fields of coal and iron, and is in consequence increasing in importance. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and Union Canal intersect the burgh. There is a weekly grain stock market held on Friday. The population in 1851 amounted to 4213, and the parliamentary constituency in 1856 to 124. Linlithgow,
Linlithgowshire. along with the burghs of Airdrie, Falkirk, Hamilton, and Lanark, returns one member to parliament.