Penicuik

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

Coordinates: 55°49′33″N 3°13′14″W / 55.825858°N 3.220463°W / 55.825858; -3.220463

Penicuik
Penicuik  Penicuik shown within Scotland
Population	18,000 [1]
OS grid reference	NT235598
Council area	Midlothian
Lieutenancy area	Midlothian
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PENICUIK
Postcode district	EH26
Dialling code	01968
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Midlothian
Scottish Parliament	Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale South of Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Penicuik is a burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. The town was developed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik. It became a burgh in 1867 . The town was well known for its paper mills, the last of which closed in 2005. More recently the town was home to the Edinburgh Crystal works.

The town's name is derived from Pen Y Cog, meaning "Hill of the Cuckoo" in the Old Brythonic language (also known as Ancient British and the forerunner of modern Welsh).

Near Penicuik is the Glencorse Parish Kirk, which formed part of the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped (1886). Some of the streets nearby are named after characters in the novel and its sequel, Catriona (1893).The kirk graveyard is known locally as "pirates graveyard" since on many of the old headstones are carved with gargoyles and the sign of the skull and crossed bones, synonymous with pirates. Penicuik is home to the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, garrisoned in Glencorse Barracks.

Penicuik is twinned with the town of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in France.

History

This section requires expansion.

The site of Penicuik was home to the paper mill established by Agnes Campbell in 1709. Around 1770, the arrival of the Cowan family, and their expanded mill, led to the need for homes for their workers. The hamlet of Penicuik was expanded as a planned village by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik, the builder of nearby Penicuik House, and by 1800 the population had risen to 1,700.

In 1803 Penicuik was the site of a prison camp for French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars. The former camp is now the site of a housing development in Valleyfield. Penicuik hosted the inaugural Grand Match in curling, between the north and the south of Scotland, in 1847. The town became a burgh in 1867 In the oldest part of Penicuik, surrounding the town centre and to the South of the old POW camp, crossing the river Esk is Pomathorn Bridge which was once a toll bridge and the main route between Edinburgh to the North and the Scottish Borders to the South. As such Penicuik has a number of ancient travellers' Inns, including The Crown, and the Royal. Because of their location on such a busy caravan route, both these pubs advertise the patronage of many characters from Scottish 18th Century history, including visits from Burke and Hare and even Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Paper mills

Paper-making was started here by Mrs Agnes Campbell in 1709. The mill was subsequently purchased by Charles Cowan, originally a grocer in Leith, who established the Cowan Valleyfield Mills. In 1796, Charles Cowan brought in his son Alexander Cowan to manage the mill. An adjacent corn mill was purchased in 1803 which became known as Bank Mill after he converted it to produce the paper on which banknotes were printed. Paper was also produced at Eskmill which has recently now become a site for private housing.

The Dalmore paper mill on the Esk near Auchendinny closed in 2005.

People of interest

There have been a fair number of interesting and noteworthy people associated with Penicuik. Famous people connected with Penicuik include;

• Sir John Clerk, baronet, composer and leading Scottish politician during the period leading up to the 1707 Act of Union
• The Scotland rugby union captain Jim Aitken,^[1]
• The papermakers Agnes Campbell ^[2], Marjorie Fidler ^[3] and Alexander Cowan ^[4]
• The founder of Finland's second city, James Finlayson ^[5]
• Gas and oil makers John & William Young ^[6]
• The mathematician and seismologist Cargill Gilston Knott FRS ^[7] (Penicuik's links with Japan)
• The zoologist James Cossar Ewart FRS ^[8], whose home, Craigiebield House, is now a hotel
• Children's writer Helen Bannerman ^[9]
• Teacher and writer Athole Cameron ^[10]
• Concorde's Delta Wing Designer, James Hamilton ^[11]
• Grain scientist Geoff Palmer ^[12].

The history of Penicuik as 'The Papermaking Town' is well documented elsewhere. The scientific element also has its own history and webpages.

References

1. ^ "Jim Aitken - Scotland Rugby Player". Sporting Heroes. http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=3042. Retrieved 2009-05-03. 
2. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Agnes_Campbell.html
3. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Marjorie_Fidler.html
4. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Alexander_Cowan.html
5. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/James_Finlayson.html
6. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/John_and_William_Young.html#WilliamYoung
7. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Cargill_Knott.html
8. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/James_Cossar_Ewart.html
9. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Helen_Bannerman.html
10. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Athole_Cameron.html
11. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/James_Hamilton.html
12. ^ http://penicuikcdt.org.uk/Geoff_Palmer.html