Rosewell is a former
mining village in
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, 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 Edinbur ...
, Scotland, east of
Roslin and south-west of
Bonnyrigg. The village is in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
of
Lasswade
Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melv ...
and was previously a separate ecclesiastical parish,
[Gazetteer of Scotland, 2nd edition, by W. Groome, publ. 1896. Article on Rosewell] but has its own
Community Council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
, namely Rosewell and District.
The population of the village is 1,566 (in 2011).
[Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Oct 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Settlement]
History

The colliery village was established by
Archibald Hood
Archibald Hood (June 1823 – 27 October 1902) was a Scottish engineer and coalowner who became an important figure in the industrial growth of the Rhondda Valley. The son of a colliery official, Hood would make his name as a coalowner of coll ...
, mining engineer and entrepreneur, who developed the Whitehill Colliery from 1856, which was located on the south-western edge of the village.
He began a new shaft at the colliery in 1878, built railways for the mines (branching from the
Peebles Railway) and erected well-designed houses for the miners, and also encouraged the establishment of a Co-operative Retail Society.
In 1890 he amalgamated his company with the mining interests of the
Marquess of Lothian to form the Lothian Coal Company.
[ The colliery was named after Whitehill House to the east and was also known as Rosewell. On 1 January 1947 the ]National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...
took over the colliery from the Lothian Coal Company, when mines in Britain were nationalised. The colliery had 3 deep shafts and one surface mine. It reached peak production in 1950, but closed in 1961.
[Canmore website of ]Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the me ...
, formerly (RCAHMS) https://canmore.org.uk/site/132549 - retrieved Nov 2016
Archibald Hood lived at ''Rosedale'' in the south of the village, which is now a category C listed building. This is a mid 19th century two storey gabled house which was later used by the Lothian Coal Company as a house for its managers, in particular his son James Archibald Hood.
The Rosewell Institute, in Carnethie Street, was built for the Lothian Coal Company as a miners' institute in 1917. The Institute was built on an impressive scale with finely detailed sandstone features.
Rosewell was served by a railway station lying between Rosewell and Hawthornden
Wangsa Maju is a township and a constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This area is surrounded by Setapak, Taman Melati and Gombak district in Selangor. Wangsa Maju is one of the largest townships in Kuala Lumpur and consists of many sections ...
. The station opened in 1855 under the name '' Hawthornden'', but was renamed ''Rosewell and Hawthornden'' in 1928. It was served by the Peebles Railway, a branch line of the Waverley Line. Services ran from Peebles to Waverley Station in Edinburgh. The station was closed in 1962 but the line remained in use for goods traffic until 1967, although the colliery had already closed by then.
[Disused Stations website www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rosewell_hawthornden - retrieved Nov 2016]
Schools
Rosewell has two primary schools, namely Rosewell Primary School and St Matthew's (Catholic) Primary School. The village is in the catchment area for Lasswade High School, and St David's Catholic High School.
Transport
Rosewell is served by Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...
. Service 49 runs every 20 minutes but, as it also serves Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-ce ...
, it takes over an hour to reach central Edinburgh. The X31 serves Rosewell early mornings (to Edinburgh) and evenings (from Edinburgh).
For walkers the Penicuik–Dalkeith Walkway passes close by.
Churches
The village has two churches, Rosewell Parish Church (Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
) and St Matthew's Roman Catholic Church.
Rosewell Parish Church was built 1871-72 and opened for worship in 1874, when Rosewell became a separate ecclesiastical parish. The population of this new ''quoad sacra'' parish was recorded as 1,394 in 1881.[ In 2008 Rosewell Parish Church was formally re-united with Lasswade Church, forming ]Lasswade and Rosewell Parish Church
Lasswade and Rosewell Parish Church serves the communities of Lasswade, Poltonhall and Rosewell, Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Sco ...
(with a single minister and Kirk Session, although retaining both places of worship).
Whitehill House
Situated half a mile south-east of the village, the category A-listed Whitehill House is a large Tudor-Jacobean revival house designed by David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect.
Life
Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in building. ...
and William Burn
William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred to ...
, built 1844 as a home for Wardlaw Ramsay, proprietor of the nearby Whitehill Colliery. The house was later acquired by the engineer Archibald Hood.
In World War I it was used as a Red Cross hospital. Until the late 1990s, Whitehill House was run by nuns of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostolic ...
as St. Joseph's Hospital for children with learning disabilities. It was visited by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
when he came to Scotland in 1982.
It is now privately owned and has a 20-hole (18 holes plus 2 bonus holes) golf course in its grounds. A number of exclusive houses have also been built.
St Josephs also provided care for adults with learning disabilities. When the hospital closed, they established St Joseph's Service which supports people with learning disabilities in houses across Midlothian. They have their headquarters in Carnethie Street, Rosewell.
Football
Whitehill Welfare play their home matches at Ferguson Park, Rosewell. They currently play in the East of Scotland First Division. Heart of Midlothian B are playing their Lowland League matches at Ferguson Park for the 2022-23 season.
Sources
;General Reference
Scotland National Tourist Board entry
;Citations
External links
Vision of Britain - History of Rosewell in Midlothian
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Villages in Midlothian