Low Port Centre with James Cumming mural, 1 Blackness Road, Linlithgow

The Low Port Centre, located at 1 Blackness Road, Linlithgow, is a large, three-storey community outdoor and education centre designed by Wheeler & Sproson around 1983 and constructed between 1986 and 1988. The building occupies a long plot at the northeastern end of Linlithgow High Street. It is of painted render construction with a slate roof and features an irregular plan. The southern section contains residential accommodation, the central block houses offices, kitchen facilities, a gym hall with a rock-climbing wall, and the northern section provides stores, drying rooms, and workshops.

A significant feature of the building is the large mural painted in 1988 by James Cumming RSA RSW (1922-1991) in the entrance foyer. Titled 'The Community: A Festival of Time', the artwork measures 6.1 by 9.1 meters and is executed in acrylic resin on the southwestern wall of the two-storey foyer stairwell, opposite the main entrance. The mural depicts a theme of timeless community, representing 39 figures and characters symbolizing various aspects of community life within a colourful town setting. The upper portion of the mural presents a skyline with rounded hills and rooftops, including a clocktower indicating ‘Measure of Time’ and a spire representing ‘The Church’, while ‘The River of Time’ flows across the lower portion. Various industries and professions are represented by figures such as ‘Teacher’, ‘Engineer’, ‘Nursing’, ‘Fashion’, and ‘Authority’, alongside stages of life including ‘Childhood’, ‘Youth’, ‘Old Age’, ‘The incoming’ and ‘The outgoing’. A key identifying the figures is affixed to the stairwell wall beside the mural.

The Low Port Centre was commissioned around 1983 by Wheeler & Sproson for Lothian Regional Council. Original plans from 1983, held within the Wheeler and Sproson Collection, detail the building's design, which was largely followed during construction. The building opened on 29 October 1988. Sir Anthony Wheeler PPRSA (1919-2013), one of the architects, initiated the idea of commissioning a bespoke artwork for the principal stairwell, leading to the commission of the mural from James Cumming. The mural was funded by the Edwin Abbey Austin Memorial Trust Fund (West Lothian Art). Cumming completed the mural over four months, residing at the Low Port Centre during the week to integrate with the community and develop the artwork's theme in consultation with local residents. The building operated as a community outdoor education centre until approximately 2021 and is now used as a community centre.