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

The Low Port Centre building was designed by Wheeler & Sproson around 1983 and built 1986-88. It is a large, three-storey, irregular plan community outdoor and education centre. It is located within a long plot at the northeastern end of Linlithgow High Street. The building is of painted render with a slate roof and comprises three storeys of residential accommodation at the southern end; offices, kitchen facilities and large gym hall with rock-climbing wall in the central block; and stores, drying rooms and workshops in the northern end of the building.

The building includes a significant mural, painted in 1988 by James Cumming RSA RSW (1922-1991) in the entrance foyer. The artwork, titled 'The Community: A Festival of Time' measures 6.1 by 9.1 meters and is painted in acrylic resin and covers the southwestern wall of the two-storey foyer stairwell, opposite the main entrance.

The mural, located in the foyer, depicts a theme of timeless community with a scene of 39 figures and characters symbolising various aspects of community life within a colourful town setting. At the top of the mural there is a skyline of rounded hills and rooftops including a clocktower depicting 'Measure of Time' and a spire representing 'The Church', while 'The River of Time' runs across the lower portion of the mural. Various industries and professions are represented through figures including 'Teacher', 'Engineer', 'Nursing', 'Fashion' and 'Authority' as well as stages of life such as 'Childhood', 'Youth', 'Old Age', 'The incoming' and 'The outgoing'. A Key to the figures in the scene is attached to the stairwell wall beside the mural.

Historical development

The Low Port Centre was designed around 1983 by the architectural firm Wheeler & Sproson as a community outdoor and education centre with residential facilities for Lothian Regional Council.

Plans in the Wheeler and Sproson Collection dated to 1983 detail the building and its various facilities and show that it was built substantially as designed (NMRS 551 334/1/2/36/1). The building was built from 1986 and opened on 29 October 1988.

It was the idea of architect (Sir) Anthony Wheeler PPRSA (1919-2013) to decorate the principal stairwell of the building with a bespoke artwork and he commissioned the mural from the artist James Cumming. The mural was funded by the Edwin Abbey Austin Memorial Trust Fund (West Lothian Art). Cumming completed the mural over a four-month period and while working he lived in Linlithgow at the Low Port Centre during the week, integrating himself with the community. The character led theme of the mural is noted to have been developed in consultation with the community who he would speak with while completing the work (Sandy Wood, p 3.).

The building remained in use as a community outdoor education centre until around 2021 and is now in use as a community centre.