Penicuik facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Penicuik Scottish Gaelic: Peighinn na Cuthaig Scots: Penicuik
Penicuik Town Hall
Penicuik
Population	16,150 (2020)
OS grid reference	NT2359
• Edinburgh	8.5 mi (13.7 km)
• London	324 mi (521 km)
Council area	Midlothian
Lieutenancy area	Midlothian
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PENICUIK
Postcode district	EH26
Dialling code	01968
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Midlothian
Scottish Parliament	Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
List of places UK Scotland 55°49′34″N 3°13′12″W / 55.826°N 3.220°W / 55.826; -3.220

Penicuik is a town in Midlothian, Scotland. It used to be a special type of town called a burgh. Penicuik is located on the west side of the River North Esk. You can find it on the A701 road, which is about halfway between the cities of Edinburgh and Peebles. The town is also east of the Pentland Hills.

What's in a Name?

The name of the town, Penicuik, is pronounced like "Pennycook." It comes from an old language called Old Brythonic, which is similar to modern Welsh. In Old Brythonic, "Pen Y Cog" means "Hill of the Cuckoo."

A Look Back in Time

Penicuik has a long and interesting history.

Early Beginnings

The town was first mentioned in a document from 1296. It talked about a person from "Penicok south of Edenburgh." This was likely the Penicuik we know today. The old church in the graveyard, which is now in ruins, was built in the late 1600s.

Paper Mills and Bridges

Penicuik became famous for its paper mills. The first one, Valleyfield Mill, was started by Agnes Campbell in 1709.

There was also a toll bridge called Pomathorn Bridge over the River Esk. This bridge was a very important route. It connected Edinburgh in the north to the Scottish Borders in the south. A famous person known as "The Young Pretender," Charles Edward Stuart, crossed this river on November 8, 1745, during his march south.

A Planned Town

In 1770, Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet of Penicuik decided to expand the town. He planned it like a new village, similar to the New Town in Edinburgh.

Military History

Glencorse Barracks is a military base in Penicuik. It is home to the Royal Highland Fusiliers, which is part of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. This place was first built in 1803 to hold French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars. It was originally called Greenlaw Military Prison.

Later, in 1811, Charles Cowan, who owned Valleyfield Mill, sold part of it to the army. This was to create more space for prisoners. In 1830, Alexander Cowan built a monument to remember the 309 prisoners who died in these camps.

Curling and Architecture

Penicuik was the site of the very first Grand Match in curling in 1847. This big game was played between teams from the north and south of Scotland. It happened on the "high pond" at the Penicuik House estate.

The town also has some interesting buildings. The South Church, built in 1862, and the "Park End" houses on Bridge Street, also from 1862, were designed by Frederick Thomas Pilkington.

Growth and Disasters

As more people moved to Penicuik, mainly because of the paper mills, the town officially became a burgh in 1866.

However, there was a sad event in 1889. A fire at the Mauricewood Colliery coal mine caused the death of 63 men and boys. Only seven people survived. After this terrible disaster, the mine was closed.

Later Developments

The Cowan Institute, which is now known as Penicuik Town Hall, was built in 1893. The Cowan family paid for it. The Penicuik war memorial was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and was built in 1920.

The Dalmore paper mill, located on the North Esk river, closed in 2004.

Schools in Penicuik

Penicuik has five primary schools: Cuiken Primary, Cornbank St James Primary, Sacred Heart Primary (which is a Roman Catholic school), Strathesk Primary, and Mauricewood Primary. There are also two high schools: Penicuik High School and Beeslack High School. Beeslack High School will soon move to a new location outside of Penicuik.

Weather in Penicuik

Penicuik has a maritime climate, which means it has cool summers and mild winters. Because the town is a bit higher up (about 180 meters above sea level), it gets more snow than nearby Edinburgh. On average, it snowed more than 30 days a year between 1951 and 1980, compared to 14 days in Edinburgh. The highest temperature recorded since 1960 was 30.2°C in July 1983. The coldest was -19.2°C in January 1982. In recent years, the coldest temperature was -12.5°C in January 2010.

How Many People Live Here?

In 2020, the population of Penicuik was 16,150 people.

Local Radio Station

Crystal FM is the local community radio station for Penicuik and the southwest part of Midlothian. You can listen to it on 107.4 FM.

Famous People from Penicuik

Many interesting people have connections to Penicuik, including:

• Jim Aitken, a captain for the Scotland rugby union team.
• Tommy Banner, a lead singer from the band The Wurzels.
• Helen Bannerman, a writer.
• Joseph Bell, a surgeon and teacher at the University of Edinburgh medical school.
• Agnes Borrowman, the first woman to be on the Pharmaceutical Society's Board of Examiners.
• Sir John Clerk, a composer and important Scottish politician before the 1707 Act of Union.
• Alexander Cowan, a papermaker and someone who gave a lot to charity.
• Charles Cowan, a papermaker and a Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh.
• James Cowan, a politician from the Liberal Party.
• James Cowan, a cricketer.
• Sir John Cowan, 1st Baronet of Beeslack, a papermaker and chairman of the Midlothian Liberal Association.
• Samuel Rutherford Crockett, a novelist.
• Claire Emslie, a footballer.
• James Cossar Ewart, a zoologist (someone who studies animals).
• James Finlayson, an industrialist (someone who manages large businesses).
• Sir James Hamilton, an aircraft designer who led the British Concorde development team.
• Jason Kerr, a footballer.
• Cargill Gilston Knott, a mathematician and seismologist (someone who studies earthquakes).
• Sam Nicholson, a footballer.
• Sir Geoff Palmer, a scientist and human rights activist.
• Craig Paterson, a footballer.
• Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, a physicist who won a Nobel Prize, was born on a nearby farm.

Sister Towns

Penicuik is twinned with other towns around the world. These are like friendship agreements between towns.

• L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the region of Provence, France.
• Midlothian, near Chicago in the USA (this twinning is shared with all other towns in Midlothian, Scotland).

Gallery

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  St. Mungo's Church, Penicuik (1771)

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  The Clerk mausoleum and old kirk, Penicuik

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  Park End, Penicuik by Frederick Thomas Pilkington

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  Picturesque housing on the south side of the river at Penicuik

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  Penicuik Cemetery looking towards the Pentland Hills

Images for kids

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  The Valleyfield Monument in Penicuik.

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  Reflections in Low Pond, Penicuik.

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  Bank House, Penicuik. This was the home of Scottish novelist Samuel Rutherford Crockett around 1886. He often had J. M. Barrie stay here.

See also

In Spanish: Penicuik para niños