22-518: Loanhead is a town in Midlothian , Scotland , in a commuter belt to the south of Edinburgh , and close to Roslin , Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith . The town was built on coal and oil shale mining , and the paper industries. Loanhead was a tiny village by about 1599, when it was included on a map of the Lothians . It was granted a charter allowing a weekly market and annual fair in 1669. Coal
44-780: A Family Learning Centre and is part of the Loanhead Centre, providing school/wrap around care, a library, medical centre, early years' provision and leisure facilities. Opened in October 2018 by Deputy First Minister of Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney . A new park and ride facility off of the A720 city by-pass opened in 2009. It is directly served by Lothian Buses route 47 into Edinburgh City Centre. Lothian Buses also operates route 37 regularly into Loanhead from Edinburgh. The town
66-640: A mile to the northwest. The coal industry continued to expand and by 1874 the town was linked to the railway. Shale was mined between Loanhead and Burdiehouse in the late nineteenth century, from 1880 under the Clippens Oil Company of Paisley . By this time the population had expanded to 3,250. The town was granted burgh status in 1884. The North British Railway built a steel lattice girder box viaduct across Bilston Glen in 1892, replacing another which had been designed by Thomas Bouch . The shale mines closed in 1909 because of incoming water from
88-539: 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 . 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 a town of Illinois . Girl Guides Too Many Requests If you report this error to
110-516: A new Midlothian District within the Region of Lothian , 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. Midlothian County Council was abolished in 1975 under
132-533: A variety of clubs including five a side football and Girl Guides . A small green square in the centre of the town features a memorial to miners killed in the town's coal mines, and large and popular bronze sculpture known as the Coghorn, by Andrew Burton. A small cat originally featured on the tip of the horn, but this was removed by vandals, and is yet to be replaced. A local Palladian mansion, Mavisbank House , built in 1723 but derelict for many years, featured on
154-608: A wide range of mainly acoustic musicians to the town each June, and features around eight venues. The main event is held on the fourth Saturday of June where the local primary children (aged 10 - 11) put on a performance at Fountain Green near Loanhead's high street. The children are assigned roles by their schools to serve at the event, the most notable roles include the Queen and the Herald, these particular roles are rotated each year between
176-521: 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 and the Scottish Borders . 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
198-797: 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 . 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 . Largest settlements by population: 18,320 16,150 14,330 13,690 8,040 6,820 3,160 2,020 1,770 1,440 Midlothian has
220-538: Is twinned with Harnes in northern France, which also has a strong mining tradition. The town was formerly twinned with Dalum in Denmark, just south of Odense , on the island of Funen . In the 1960s, several exchange visits between the two towns took place, but the twinning formally ceased as a consequence of Dalum being absorbed by the much larger Odense. Midlothian Midlothian ( / m ɪ d ˈ l oʊ ð i ə n / ; Scottish Gaelic : Meadhan Lodainn )
242-581: 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 Lothian region. The Midlothian district was smaller than the area of the pre-1975 county, parts of which went to other districts: Currie , Balerno , Ratho and Newbridge to
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#1732791945088264-537: The city of Edinburgh ; Musselburgh burgh and parish of Inveresk (which included the villages of Inveresk , Wallyford and Whitecraig ) to East Lothian ; 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
286-546: The BBC television series Restoration in 2004. The town has three primary schools – Paradykes, St. Margaret's (Catholic) and Loanhead Primary. A new joint campus for St. Margaret's and Loanhead Primary was completed and opened in March 2008. The two schools are on the same site but separate allowing the separation of Roman Catholic and secular education but children are able to mix in a range of activities. Paradykes incorporates
308-555: The Edinburgh waterworks aqueducts . Burdiehouse limeworks ceased in 1912, although limestone was mined in the area until 1960. The Polton paper mill closed in 1955. Coal mining continued, with the large Bilston Glen pit being sunk between 1952 and 1961. It was closed in 1989, and the site cleared. Bilston Glen Colliery at one stage produced 1,000,000 tons of coal per annum, and employed 2,300 men. The coal workings stretched from Rosewell to Dalkeith. All coal working ceased following
330-466: 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
352-678: 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 areas . The reconstituted Midlothian Council continues to be based at Midlothian House in Dalkeith. There
374-505: The proposals. The main street, Clerk Street, is busy with traffic and local shoppers. Large supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Costco are in proximity. A large, modern industrial estate with around 100 different concerns provides a wide range of jobs for local residents. Businesses include: MacSweens haggis factory, and Police Scotland's Communications Centre (The Force Communications Centre, or FCC) where all radio traffic and emergency calls are handled. The Pentlands industrial estate
396-554: The respective schools; Loanhead, Paradykes and St Margaret's. The Queen and Herald attend local events and perform some public duties during their twelve months of service including turning on the town's Christmas lights. The Queen and Herald have parts in the Crowning Ceremony of the following year when they become the Retiring Queen and Retiring Herald. A book to commemorate the children's festival 100th Anniversary
418-761: The violent strikes of 1984–1985, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister . The site is now used as an industrial estate. Loanhead is administered by Midlothian Council, and following recent boundary changes lies in the new ward of Midlothian West, served by three Midlothian Councillors . At a local level, the Community Council provides a forum at which local views can be aired. Straiton Retail Park includes one of only two IKEA stores in Scotland. Proposals have been made for Straiton to be further developed with new facilities including an 8,000 capacity events arena serving Edinburgh. Two hotels are included in
440-466: Was mined profitably in the area for Sir John Clerk of Penicuik by 1685. The Springfield paper mill , in the valley of the River North Esk to the south of the town, commenced in 1742, while Polton mill followed in 1750. By 1754 Loanhead was a medium-sized settlement. The limestone industry was a source of employment by the late eighteenth century, the works being at Burdiehouse , about
462-409: Was opened in the 1970s, and a number of retail and other businesses trade from the periphery of the town. These were from the likes of Greggs to the more industrial companies focusing on welding and steel fabrication. Loanhead Gala Day (Children's Day) Loanhead has an annual gala day, also known as "Children's Day" which is an annual weekend music festival. This increasingly popular event attracts
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#1732791945088484-588: Was published in 2003. Former Queens and Heralds As an offshoot from the Festival, Loanhead Guitar Club meets on Wednesday evenings to provide informal tuition and practice opportunities in guitar and other instruments for over 18's. The Loanhead Miners Club continues to be a major social and community hub for the town, and wide variety of events are run from there. Loanhead Guitar Club meets on Wednesday evenings to provide informal tuition and practice opportunities for over 18's. Several community groups run
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