Midlothian

Rosslyn Chapel, in the grounds of Roslin Castle.

Following the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, Lothian was populated by Brythonic-speaking ancient Britons and formed part of Gododdin, within the Hen Ogledd or Old North. In the seventh century, Gododdin fell to the Angles, with Lothian becoming part of the kingdom of Bernicia. Bernicia united into the Kingdom of Northumbria which itself became part of the early Kingdom of England. Lothian came under the control of the Scottish monarchy in the tenth century.

In the Middle Ages, Lothian was the scene of several historic conflicts between the kingdoms of Scotland and England. The Battle of Roslin took place in 1303 at Roslin as part of the First War of Scottish Independence. A Scottish army led by Simon Fraser and John Comyn defeated an army led by English commander John Segrave.

Along with other parts of the Lothians, the county was involved in the Rough Wooing when Roslin Castle, seat of the Earl of Caithness, was destroyed in 1544 by forces of Henry VIII of England.

In the 17th century, the county featured in the War of the Three Kingdoms, where General George Monck had his base at Dalkeith Castle as the Commonwealth's Commander in Scotland.[1] Following the Restoration of the monarchy, the "Pentland Rising" in the region culminated with the Battle of Rullion Green in 1666, a decisive victory for the Government forces against Covenanter rebels.

In 1650, Oliver Cromwell's army came to Dalkeith. His officer General George Monck, was Commander in Scotland, and the government of the country was based out of Dalkeith castle.[2]

The 1878-80 Midlothian campaign by British Liberal politician William Ewart Gladstone entered history as an early example of modern political campaigning, resulting in Gladstone taking the Midlothian constituency from the long-time Conservative Member of Parliament William Montagu Douglas Scott and going on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On 1 June 1978, Midlothian became Sister Cities with Midlothian, Illinois.

The modern council area of Midlothian is governed by Midlothian Council, based in Dalkeith.

Lothian Chambers, the former headquarters of Midlothian County Council, now home to Edinburgh's French Consulate and the French Institute for Scotland

Council area

Main article: Midlothian Council

Midlothian House, Dalkeith

The Lothian region was abolished in 1996. The four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitary council areas.[17] The reconstituted Midlothian Council continues to be based at Midlothian House in Dalkeith. The Midlothian lieutenancy area corresponds to the current council area rather than the historic county.[18]

The Glencorse Reservoir in the Pentland Hills

The Midlothian council area contains the towns of Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik, as well as a portion of the Pentland Hills Regional Park, Rosslyn Chapel and Dalkeith Palace.

The historic county has a roughly trapezoidal shape; it consists of a fairly flat area along the Firth of Forth, which is heavily urbanised and dominated by the Edinburgh conurbation. Off the coast lie the small islands of Inchmickery and Cramond Island. The land gradually rises to the south, with the Pentland Hills in the south-west, Moorfoot Hills in the centre-south and the Lammermuir Hills in the far south-east. Blackhope Scar on the border with Peeblesshire is the highest point in the county at 651 m (2,136 ft). The county contains no lochs of any size, though there are many reservoirs, most notably Gladhouse Reservoir, Rosebery Reservoir, Edgelaw Reservoir, Loganlea Reservoir, Glencorse Reservoir, Threipmuir Reservoir, Harlaw Reservoir, Harperrig Reservoir, Crosswood Reservoir, Morton Reservoir and Cobbinshaw Reservoir.

Bonnyrigg

Penicuik

Dalkeith

Mayfield

Gorebridge

Loanhead

Danderhall

Rosewell

Roslin

Bilston

East Lothian

Scottish Borders

City of Edinburgh

The largest settlements in Midlothian.

Map contrasting the area comprising Midlothian council (dark blue) within the historic county of Midlothian (light blue).

Largest settlements by population:

Transferred to East Lothian

Musselburgh

• Fisherrow
• Inveresk
• Monktonhall
• Musselburgh
• Wallyford
• Whitecraig

(Unitary authority indicated where not Midlothian. Boundaries defined by Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973)[20][21]

Midlothian or Edinburghshire Civil Parish map c. 1854. Boundaries outlined in red

• Borthwick
• Carrington
• Cockpen
• Cranston
• Crichton
• Currie (Edinburgh)
• Dalkeith
• Fala and Soutra
• Glencorse
• Heriot (Scottish Borders)
• Inveresk (East Lothian)
• Kirkliston (Edinburgh)[22]
• Kirknewton (West Lothian)
• Lasswade
• Mid Calder (West Lothian)
• Newbattle
• Newton
• Penicuik
• Ratho (Edinburgh)
• Stow (Scottish Borders)
• Temple
• West Calder (West Lothian)

Midlothian has a modern road network as well as some rural single-track roads. The Borders Railway runs between Tweedbank to Edinburgh, with four stations in Midlothian – Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange and Gorebridge.

• William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585–1649), Scottish poet.
• Princess Margaret of Scotland (1598–1600), daughter of James VI and I of Scotland and England (born Dalkeith Palace)
• John Clerk of Penicuik, 2nd Baronet (1676–1755), was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect.
• William Robertson (1721–1793), historian, minister in the Church of Scotland, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh
• Robert Smith (1722–1777), American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, born in Dalkeith
• Hector Macneill (1746–1818), poet and songwriter, born near Roslin
• John Clerk, Lord Eldin (1757–1832), Scottish judge, lived in Lasswade for several years.
• Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) wrote the novel The Heart of Midlothian and lived at Lasswade Cottage (now Sir Walter Scott's Cottage) in Lasswade from 1798 to 1804, where he wrote his Grey Brother, translation of Goetz von Berlichingen, etc. and was visited by Wordsworth.
• William Tennant (1784–1848), the author of Anster Fair, was parish schoolmaster in Lasswade from 1816 to 1819.
• Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859), author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822), lived in Man's Bush Cottage (now De Quincey Cottage), Polton, from 1840 until his death in 1859.
• Thomas Murray (1792–1872), the Gallovidian author, died in Lasswade.
• Anne Richelieu Lamb (1807-1878), feminist writer
• William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), MP for Midlothian 1880–1895 and conducted his famous Midlothian campaign across the UK in 1880
• Patrick Edward Dove (1815–1873), mainly remembered for his book The Theory of Human Progression, born at Lasswade
• John Lawson Johnston (1839–1900), the creator of Bovril, born at Roslin.
• Charles W. Nibley (1849–1931), Scottish-American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nibley was served as second counselor in the First Presidency to Heber J. Grant (1925–31), and Presiding Bishop (1907–25).
• Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869–1959) of Glencorse, Nobel prize-winning physicist.
• George Forrest (1873–1932), a plant collector who gained fame with his expeditions to the far east who spent a significant part of his early years in Loanhead.
• Sir William MacTaggart (1903–1981), artist, and grandson of the artist William McTaggart, he became President of the Society of Scottish Artists, President of the Royal Scottish Academy, and Trustee of the National Museum of Antiquities.
• Charles Forte, Baron Forte (1908–2007), the hotelier, worked in an Italian cafe in Loanhead, on his arrival in Scotland from Italy.
• Karl Miller (1931–2014), founding editor of the London Review of Books and Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College, London (1974–1992), born in Straiton.
• Annette Crosbie (born 1934), actress, born in Gorebridge
• Ishbel MacAskill (1941–2011), heritage activist and traditional Scottish Gaelic singer and teacher
• Gary Naysmith from Loanhead (born 1978), Scottish International Footballer who played for Heart of Midlothian and Everton. He was named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year in 1998. He won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998.
• Darren Fletcher (born 1984), from Mayfield Dalkeith. Scotland International footballer and holds the record of being the youngest player to captain his national side, and was part of the Manchester United squad that won the UEFA Champions League in the 2007–2008 season.
• Steven Whittaker from Bonnyrigg, (born 1984), Scotland International footballer, ex-Hibernian F.C. and Rangers F.C.

Midlothian is twinned with Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary and Kreis Heinsberg, Germany. It is a sister city with Midlothian, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago a town of Illinois.[26]

• Media related to Midlothian at Wikimedia Commons
• Midlothian at Curlie