Penicuik
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Penicuik Scottish Gaelic Peighinn na Cuthaig |
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| Coordinates | 55 ° 50 ′ N , 3 ° 13 ′ W | ||
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| Residents | 15,926 2011 census | ||
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| Post town | PENICUIK | ||
| ZIP code section | EH26 | ||
| prefix | 01968 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Midlothian | ||
| British Parliament | Midlothian | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | ||
Penicuik is a Scottish town in Midlothian with 15,926 inhabitants.
history
Penicuik was initially just a village until Agnes Campbell built a paper mill there in 1709. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the paper mill was used as a prison camp for French prisoners, which the "French Prisoners' Monument" still reminds of today. Around 1770 the village was expanded to the east by town planner Sir John Clark, as the steady growth of the factory meant that the workers needed a lot of housing. The two streets High Street and John Street were laid out on this occasion. In 1796 Alexander Cowan took over the factories. He bought an adjacent grain mill and made paper for banknotes there. In 1847, Penîcuik organized the opening match of the "Grand Match" curling tournament between North and South Scotland. Penicuik, which was granted city status in 1867, continued to grow through the local paper industry until the 1970s, when the paper mills were closed in 2005. Dalmore Mill, near Auchendinny, closed that year. The Edinburgh Crystal Works are still active in Penicuik.
The name Pen Y Cog comes from the British (an island Celtic language) and means "cuckoo hill".
Twin cities
Sons of the city
- James Cossar Ewart (zoologist)
- Cargill Gilson Knott (mathematician and seismologist)
- Geoff Palmer (scientist)
- Tom Walkinshaw (racing driver)
Penicuik in literature
The nearby parish church of Glencorse was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's book Kidnapped . Streets nearby are named after characters from the book and its sequel "Catriona".
