Loanhead

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.

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 [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townfirst254.html] . 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.

Present

Loanhead is administered by Midlothian Council, and following recent boundary changes lies in the new ward of Midlothian West, served by 3 Midlothian Councillors. At a local level, the [http://loanheadcc.googlepages.com Community Council] provides a forum at which local views can be aired.

Loanhead is well 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 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.

Loanhead 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. A small green square in the centre of the town features a 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 in an act of pointless vandalism and is yet to be replaced.

Since 2000, an annual weekend music festival, [http://www.loanheadfest.co.uk Loanhead Music Festival] has been staged. This increasingly popular event attracts a wide range of mainly acoustic musicians to the town each June and features around eight venues.

Loanhead continues to grow, largely due to the influence of the continued development of Straiton Retail Park which icludes one of only two IKEA stores in Scotland but also increasingly as a dormitory town for Edinburgh parts of which are under 20 minutes away. Depsite the proximity of large stores such as Sainsbury's, Costco and Homebase, the main street (Clerk Street) is busy with traffic and local shoppers. And there is still as sense that you can obtain most of the basics in just a short walk.

A large, modern industrial estate with around 100 different concerns provides a wide range of jobs of jobs to local residents. A new "park and ride" facility which will provide a high quality bus service into Edinburgh City Centre is due to open in Autumn 2008. Being under a mile from the A720 city by-pass, Loanhead is a convenient and pleasant place to live.

The town is twinned with Harnes in Northern France which also has a strong mining tradition. A local stately home, Mavisbank (derelict for many years), featured on the BBC's Restoration programme in 2004. Several community groups run a variety of clubs including five a side football and Girl Guides, and the Lo-Gy Gymnasium club sets some of the highest sporting standards in Scotland.

The town is also twinned with Dalum in Denmark (just south of Odense, on the island of Funen). In the sixties several exchange visits between the two towns took place, but during the seventies activities seem to have dwindled despite attempts from Dalum to revive the proud tradition.

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.

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.

[http://www.plantexplorers.com/explorers/biographies/forrest/george-forrest.htm George Forrest] (1873-1932), a well known plant collector who gained fame with his expeditions to the far east, spent a significant part of his early years in the town in a house in Linden Place, which sports a plaque marking the fact.

Bibliography

* The Making of Scotland, Robin Smith, Canongate Books Ltd, 2001