Not many artefacts were found and radiocarbon dates from waterlogged wood and animal bone were between 1600–200 BC, indicating the people had been living or working in Winchburgh at least a thousand years before the earliest records of the town.

After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Sir James Douglas followed King Edward II and the remnants of his army to Winchburgh.

Than lychtyt all that thai war To bayt thar hors that wer wery, And Douglas and his cumpany Baytyt alsua besid thaim ner.

[5] In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, escaped from Loch Leven Castle, and was met by Lord Seton, before crossing the Firth of Forth from South Queensferry.

On 13 October 1862 on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway a mile and a half northwest of Winchburgh was the scene of a head-on rail crash in which 15 people were killed.

[7] The late 19th century saw the development of several dozen miners' rows, built in redstone and on an interlocking L-plan to the east of the canal.

It has a station on the North British Railway, a Post Office with money order and savings bank departments, an Established mission church (opened 1891) and a public school.

As of February 2024, planning permission was granted and the new Hawkhill Primary awaits construction, with the school expected to open for pupils in August 2025.

[19] In April 2022 work began to create a new junction to join Winchburgh to the motorway at an estimated cost of £40 million.

[21][22] There are regular scheduled buses to and from surrounding places including Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Falkirk, South Queensferry and Broxburn.

The construction of the Winchburgh Tunnel was supervised by the noted Scottish Civil Engineer, John Gibb.

Winchburgh Bowling Club was established in 1913 by local miners and the clubhouse has a 150-capacity function room for social occasions, such as weddings.

In July 2007, parents from local schools formed a boys' football team, taking the name of the former Winchburgh Albion, which had folded in the 1970s.

This evolved over the next decade and there now exists multiple girls, boys and joint underage teams registered with the SFA under the banner of the Winchburgh Albion Youth Football Club.

John Gorman is another former Winchburgh player; he started his senior career with Celtic, before going on have playing success with Carlisle, Tottenham Hotspur and as a coach with several clubs, including his present role at MK Dons.