Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council area,

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

and the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. The modern council area was formed in 1975 when the historic county of Midlothian, also known as Edinburghshire, was altered substantially as part of local government reforms; its southern part formed a new Midlothian

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

within the

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

, whilst areas on the peripheries were assigned to other districts and the city of Edinburgh, which had always been autonomous to an extent, was formally separated as the City of Edinburgh District. In 1996 Midlothian became a unitary authority area, using the same name and territory as in 1975.

History

Midlothian County Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which abolished Scotland's counties and burghs as administrative areas and created a new two-tier system of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Most of Midlothian's territory went to a new district called Midlothian within the

region. The Midlothian district was smaller than the area of the pre-1975 county, parts of which went to other districts: Currie, Balerno,

Ratho Ratho () is a village in the rural west part of the City of Edinburgh council area, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian (historic), ...

and Newbridge to the city of Edinburgh;

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

burgh and parish of Inveresk (which included the villages of Inveresk, Wallyford and Whitecraig) to

; East Calder, Mid Calder and West Calder) and the Midlothian part of Livingston to West Lothian; Heriot and Stow parishes to the Ettrick and Lauderdale district of the Borders region. The boundaries of the historic county of Midlothian, including the city of Edinburgh, are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county. The Midlothian lieutenancy area corresponds to the current council area rather than the historic county. The last lord-lieutenant of the county of Midlothian was made lord-lieutenant for the new district of Midlothian when the reforms came into effect in 1975. The former county council's headquarters in Edinburgh became the offices of the new Lothian Regional Council, whilst the Midlothian District Council established its headquarters in Dalkeith. In 1991 the council built itself a new headquarters called Midlothian House at 40-46 Buccleuch Street in Dalkeith. The Lothian region was abolished in 1996. The four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitary

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...

s. The reconstituted Midlothian Council continues to be based at Midlothian House in Dalkeith.

Central government

There is a Midlothian constituency of the House of Commons. There was a Midlothian constituency of the Scottish Parliament up to the 2011 elections when it was divided between Midlothian North and Musselburgh and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

Geography

The Midlothian

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

Settlements

Largest settlements by population:

Places of interest

* Arniston House * Borthwick Castle * Castlelaw Fort * Crichton Castle * Dalhousie Castle * Dalkeith Palace * Flotterstone * Hawthornden Castle * Midlothian Snowsports Centre, Hillend * National Mining Museum * Loanhead Memorial Park * Mavisbank House * Melville Castle * Newbattle Abbey * Pentland Hills * Roslin Castle * Roslin Glen Country Park * Roslin Institute * Rosslyn Chapel * Tyne-Esk Walk * Vogrie Country Park * Wallace's Cave

Transport

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.

Notable people associated with Midlothian

* 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 Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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 Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

(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 William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

(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 Bovril is a thick and salty meat extract paste, similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules. Its appearance is similar to the British Marmite and ...

, born at Roslin. * Charles W. Nibley (1849–1931), Scottish-American religious leader in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(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 The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the 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 The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'' 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 *

Fish (singer) Derek William Dick (born 25 April 1958), better known by his stage name Fish, is a retired Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-prog band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 1 ...

(born 1958), former lead singer

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

1981-1987 and song based on his birth county, Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile) * Gary Naysmith from Loanhead (born 1978), international Footballer, played for Heart of Midlothian and Everton, named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year in 1998, won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998 * Darren Fletcher (born 1984), from Mayfield. international footballer, holds the record of being the youngest player to captain the national side, was part of the Manchester United squad that won the UEFA Champions League in 2008 * Steven Whittaker from Bonnyrigg, (born 1984), international footballer, played mainly for Hibernian and Rangers

Schools in Midlothian

Primary schools

*Bilston Primary School,

Bilston Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, south east of Wolverhampton city centre and close to the borders of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell ...

*Bonnyrigg Primary School, Bonnyrigg *Burnbrae Primary School, Hopefield *Cornbank St James Primary School, Penicuik *Cuiken Primary School, Penicuik *Danderhall Primary School, Danderhall *Gore Glen Primary School, Gorebridge *Gorebridge Primary School, Gorebridge *Hawthornden Primary School, Bonnyrigg *King's Park Primary School, Dalkeith *Lasswade Primary School, Lasswade *Lawfield Primary School, Mayfield *Loanhead Primary School, Loanhead *Mauricewood Primary School, Penicuik *Mayfield Primary School, Mayfield *Moorfoot Primary School, North Middleton *Newtongrange Primary School, Newtongrange *Paradykes Primary School, Loanhead *Rosewell Primary School, Rosewell *Roslin Primary School, Roslin *Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Penicuik *St Andrews's RC Primary School Gorebridge *St David's RC Primary School Dalkeith *St Luke's RC Primary School, Mayfield *St Margaret's RC Primary School, Loanhead *St Mary's RC Primary School, Bonnyrigg *St Matthew's RC Primary School, Rosewell *Stobhill Primary School, Gorebridge *Strathesk Primary School, Penicuik *Tynewater Primary School, Pathhead *Woodburn Primary School, Woodburn

Secondary schools

* Beeslack High School, Penicuik * Dalkeith High School, Dalkeith * Lasswade High School Centre, Bonnyrigg * Newbattle Community High School, Mayfield * Penicuik High School, Penicuik * St. David's RC High School, Dalkeith

Special schools

* Saltersgate School, Dalkeith *Top Services Pathhead

Twin towns and sister cities

Midlothian is twinned with Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary and Kreis Heinsberg, Germany. Since 1978 it is a sister city with Midlothian, Illinois, a suburb of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

a town of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Districts of Scotland Council areas of Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland