Penicuik Explained

Country:Scotland
Official Name:Penicuik
Scots Name:Penicuik
Gaelic Name:Peighinn na Cuthaig
Static Image:The Cowan Institute, Penicuik.JPG
Static Image Caption:Penicuik Town Hall
Population Ref:
Os Grid Reference:NT2359
Coordinates:55.826°N -3.22°W
Map Type:Scotland
Unitary Scotland:Midlothian
Lieutenancy Scotland:Midlothian
Constituency Westminster:Midlothian
Constituency Scottish Parliament:Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Post Town:PENICUIK
Postcode District:EH26
Postcode Area:EH
Dial Code:01968
Edinburgh Distance Mi:8.5
London Distance Mi:324

Penicuik (; Scots: Penicuik; Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. It lies on the A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hills.

Name

The town's name is pronounced 'Pennycook' and 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).[1]

History

In 1296, Thomas Rymer's Foedera mentions a "Walter Edgar a person of Penicok south of Edenburgh", which logically can only be what is now called Penicuik.[2] Penycook appears as the name on John Adair's map of 1682[3] and the ruined old parish church, in the centre of the graveyard, dates from the late 17th century.

Penicuik became home to an early paper mill, Valleyfield Mill, which was established by Agnes Campbell in 1709.[4]

The Pomathorn Bridge was a toll bridge across the River Esk and the main route between Edinburgh to the north and the Scottish Borders to the south. "The Young Pretender", Charles Edward Stuart, is recorded as having crossed the River Esk on his march south on 8 November 1745.[5]

The town was expanded as a planned village, roughly based on Edinburgh's New Town, by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet of Penicuik in 1770.[6]

Glencorse Barracks, which is home to the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was established as a facility for incarcerating French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars and was originally known as Greenlaw Military Prison when it was completed in 1803.[7] Charles Cowan, who acquired Valleyfield Mill in 1779, sold it to the War Office in order to create additional prisoner of war facilities in 1811.[8] In 1830, Alexander Cowan erected a monument, designed by Thomas Hamilton, to the memory of 309 prisoners who died in the prisoner of war camps.

Penicuik hosted the inaugural Grand Match in curling, between the north and the south of Scotland, in 1847. This took place on the "high pond" on the estate of Penicuik House, not the "low pond" which is still used for curling on rare occasions.[9]

The town, whilst generally architecturally undistinguished, contains two masterpieces by Frederick Thomas Pilkington: the South Church (originally the United Free Church, of 1862; and the flamboyant "Park End" houses on Bridge Street also of 1862.[6]

Following population growth, largely associated with the paper mills, the town became a burgh in 1866.[10]

In 1889, a fire at the Mauricewood Colliery resulted in the death of 63 men and boys, with only seven survivors. Its owners, The Schotts Iron Company, closed the pit following the disaster. [11]

The Cowan Institute, now known as Penicuik Town Hall, was funded by the Cowan family and designed by Campbell Douglas in 1893.[6]

The Penicuik war memorial was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and dates from 1920.

The Dalmore paper mill on the North Esk river at Auchendinny closed in 2004.[12]

Schools

There are five primary schools in Penicuik, Cuiken Primary, Cornbank St James Primary, Sacred Heart Primary (Roman Catholic), Strathesk Primary and Mauricewood Primary. There are also two high schools, Penicuik High School and Beeslack High School (which is soon to move out of Penicuik itself).[13]

Climate

Penicuik experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The town's somewhat elevated position (180 m O.S.) means it is more susceptible to snowfall than nearby Edinburgh; over 30 days of the year on average reported lying snow between 1951 and 1980, compared to 14 at Edinburgh.[14] Temperature extremes since 1960 range from 30.2C during July 1983[15] to -19.2C in January 1982.[16] The coldest temperature in recent years was -12.5C during January 2010.[17]

Demography

Its population at the 2020 census was 16,150 computed according to the 2020 definition of the locality.[18]

Radio

Crystal FM is the Community Radio Station serving Penicuik & S W Midlothian on 107.4FM.[19]

In popular culture

Near Penicuik is Glencorse Parish Kirk, which formed part of the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Weir of Hermiston.[20]

Notable people

Notable people connected with Penicuik include;

Twin town

Notes and References

  1. Book: Chambers 21st Century Dictionary . Harrap . 1999 . 978-0-550-14250-4 . Robinson, Mairi . Edinburgh, Scotland . 1059 . Some common elements of placenames. . There is a similarly-named "Pennyquick" just west of Bath in Somerset in England.
  2. Web site: Genealogial collections concerning the Scottish house of Edgar, with a memoir of James Edgar. 1 August 1873. London Grampian Club. Internet Archive.
  3. Web site: Map of Midlothian - Maps of Scotland. maps.nls.uk.
  4. Web site: Paper Mills. Penicuik Papermaking: 300th Anniversary. 27 October 2022.
  5. Web site: Itinerary of Prince Charles Edward Stuart from his landing in Scotland July 1745 to his departure in September 1746. 1897. Edinburgh University Press. 25. Walter Biggar. Blaikie.
  6. Book: Lothian, except Edinburgh (Buildings of Scotland Series). Colin. McWilliam. Christopher. Wilson. 1978. Penguin. 9780-140710663. 379–385.
  7. Book: John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, Statistical and Topographical. A. & C. Black. 1887. 320.
  8. Web site: Valleyfield Mill. Penicuik Papermaking: 300th Anniversary. 27 October 2022.
  9. News: Scottish curling: life on the ice for almost 500 years. 26 December 2016. The Scotsman. 27 October 2022.
  10. Web site: Penicuik Burgh. Vision of Britain. 27 October 2022.
  11. Web site: Mauricewood 1889 - Scottish Mining Website. www.scottishmining.co.uk.
  12. Web site: Dalmore Mill . 2014-06-19.
  13. News: New Beeslack High School plans go out to public. 31 August 2022. Edinburgh Evening News. 27 October 2022.
  14. Web site: Snowfall average . ScotClim.
  15. Web site: 1983 Maximum . KNMI.
  16. Web site: 1982 Minimum . KNMI.
  17. Web site: 2010 Minimum . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121017214539/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/jan2010/mintemp_070110_n.jpg . 2012-10-17 . UKMO.
  18. Web site: Penicuik (Midlothian) . 2014-06-19.
  19. Web site: Crystal FM. media.info.
  20. Book: Stevenson, Robert Louis . The Complete Works: Novels, Short Stories, Poems, Plays, Memoirs, Travel Sketches, Letters and Essays. 2017. E-Artnow. 978-8026836599. Illustrated .
  21. Web site: Jim Aitken - Scotland Rugby Player . 3 May 2009 . Sporting Heroes.
  22. News: Penicuik heroes. 15 July 2010. The Scotsman. 19 January 2020.
  23. Web site: Dr Joseph Bell. Gazetteer for Scotland. 27 October 2022.
  24. Book: Holloway, Sydney W. F. . Royal pharmaceutical society of Great Britain, 1841-1991 : a political and social history . 1991 . Pharmaceutical Press . 0-85369-244-0 . 268 . 464125862.
  25. Book: Waterston . Charles D. . Macmillan Shearer. A.. Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002: Biographical Index. 29 September 2010. I. 1 July 2006. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh. 978-0-902198-84-5. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061004113545/http://www.rse.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp1.pdf. 4 October 2006. 191.
  26. Web site: The Cowan Institute. Penicuik Papermaking, 300th Anniversary. Penicuik Historical Society. 1 August 2021.
  27. Book: Waterston . Charles D. . Macmillan Shearer. A.. Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002: Biographical Index. 29 September 2010. I. 1 July 2006. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh. 978-0-902198-84-5. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061004113545/http://www.rse.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp1.pdf. 4 October 2006. 209.
  28. Web site: The annals of Penicuik; being a history of the parish and of the village. John J. . Wilson. T. & A. Constable. 1891. 208.
  29. Web site: James Cowan . Wisden. 27 October 2022.
  30. Web site: Sir John Cowan. Gazetteer for Scotland. 27 October 2022.
  31. Web site: S. R. Crockett. Future Museum. 27 October 2022.
  32. Web site: Claire Emslie: Scotland winger targets World Cup after missing Euro 2017. BBC Sport. 13 March 2018. 13 March 2018.
  33. m. . F. H. A. . James Cossar Ewart. 1851-1933 . 10.1098/rsbm.1934.0004 . . 1 . 3 . 189–195 . 1934 .
  34. Finlayson, James. 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/49393 . 978-0-19-861412-8 . 27 October 2022.
  35. Web site: Sir James Arnot Hamilton. Gazetteer for Scotland. 19 January 2020.
  36. News: Jason Kerr's rise through the ranks shows no signs of letting up. 1 March 2021. Edinburgh Evening News. 27 October 2022.
  37. Knott. Cargill Gilston. 1879. Researches on contact electricity. D.Sc. Thesis. en. 1842/26666. 27 October 2022.
  38. News: Hearts star Sam Nicholson on setting Tynecastle alight and avoiding trouble on nights out in Edinburgh. 28 February 2016. Daily Record. 27 October 2022.
  39. News: After life upstairs, downstairs is an eye-opener for defender: Craig's just happy to still have the ball at his feet. 23 March 1996. Herald Scotland. 27 October 2022.
  40. Web site: www.illinoissistercities.org/?page_id=2650 . 2018-04-10 . illinoissistercities.org.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Penicuik".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.