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Loanhead (pop. 6,900) is a small town in Midlothian, Scotland, to the south of Edinburgh, and close to Roslin, Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith.
The town was built on coal and shale mining, and paper making.
[edit] History
It was a tiny village by about 1600, 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 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 a mile to the north west.
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 [1]. 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 the Edinburgh waterworks aqueducts. Burdiehouse limeworks ceased in 1912, although limestone was still being mined in the area, only ceasing in 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 1988, 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 the violent strikes during the time when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. The site is now used for an industrial estate, with businesses including MacSweens haggis factory, and Lothian and Borders Police Communications Centre (The Force Communications Centre, or FCC) where all radio traffic and emergency calls are handled.
The Pentlands industrial estate was opened in the 1970s, and a number of retail and other businesses trade from the periphery of the town.
[edit] Present
Loanhead is now known for its annual gala day, also known as "Children's Day". A book to commemorate the 100th Anniversary was published in 2003. The Gala Day organising committee website is at http://www.loanheadgaladay.co.uk .
The town has three primary schools - Paradykes, St. Margaret's (Catholic) and Loanhead Primary. A replacement for St. Margaret's and Loanhead Primary is being built (Dec 2006 - completion expected Summer 2007) on the "joint campus" principle to allow the separation of Catholic and Secular education but to enable children to mix in a range of activities. The town has a small but well used and appointed leisure centre, a small library and an excellent health centre as well a range of local businesses.
Loanhead has, since the year 2000, held an annual weekend music festival, Loanhead Music Festival [2], which attracts a wide range of (mainly) acoustic musicians to the town each June.
Loanhead continues to grow, largely due to the development of Straiton Retail Park but also increasingly as a dormitory town for Edinburgh parts of which are under 20 minutes away.
Loanhead is twinned with the town of Harnes in Northern France. A local stately home, Mavisbank, featured on the BBC's Restoration programme in 2004.
[edit] Famous People
Gary Naysmith - Scottish International Footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United and formerly 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.
Sir Charles Forte worked in an Italian Cafe in the High Street on his arrival in Scotland from Italy.
Sir William MacTaggart II P.R.S.A., R.A (1903-1981), artist - 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.
John Lemmywinks - Jus a basic Loanheed legend
[edit] Bibliography
- The Making of Scotland, Robin Smith, Canongate Books Ltd, 2001
Coordinates: 55°52'N, 3°09'W
(Source: Wikipedia) |