A Brief History of Penicuik
Courtesy of Penicuik Historical Society Archive Team
Penicuik, the name meaning ‘Hill of the Cuckoo’, grew from a small rural settlement to become the most important papermaking town in Scotland.
In 1654, a merchant called John Clerk purchased the Penicuik Estate and local lands. Successive generations of his family encouraged agricultural improvement and the establishment of industry in the locality. The Clerk family still own the Penicuik House Estate which is notable for its neo-Palladian conserved ruin, known as old Penicuik House, set in the 18th century designed landscape. The 3rd Baronet, Sir James Clerk, is credited with developing the village of Penicuik and it is likely that he designed the 1771 kirk which is situated at the top of the High Street.
The Clerk family feued land for industry – a waulkmill in 1707, a papermill in 1709 and the first cotton mill in Scotland, Esk Mills, in the 1770s. The papermill was sold in 1779 to Charles Cowan, an Edinburgh and Leith merchant, who named it Valleyfield. During the Napoleonic Wars, the mills at Valleyfield and Esk Mills were taken over by the Government to house thousands of prisoners of war and their guards. There is a monument at Valleyfield, built in 1830, to the 309 prisoners who died there.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the Cowan family resumed papermaking at Valleyfield and Esk Mills also produced paper. When Alexander Cowan, the son of Charles Cowan, died in 1859 he left a legacy which was used to bring a clean water supply from the Sillerburn to Penicuik. This was commemorated by the new well and fountain erected in 1864. Alexander’s legacy also funded the Cowan Institute which was completed in 1894, later serving as Penicuik’s Town Hall.
Under the management of successive members of the Cowan family, Valleyfield Mills became the largest papermill in Scotland with a worldwide reputation for quality and a network of branches in the UK and overseas. Esk Mills, under James Brown and his successors, became the second largest papermill in Scotland.
Penicuik developed to become a thriving commercial town which grew significantly during the 19th century and later. Shottstown was built in the 1870s to house mining families employed at the nearby Mauricewood and Greenlaw pits. The Mauricewood Pit Disaster in 1889 resulted in the deaths of 63 men and boys – it is recorded as Midlothian’s worst mining accident. Mining ceased here in the early years of the 20th century. Other industries and occupations included ‘cottage industry’ weaving, silk shawl and stocking making, a foundry, a saw mill, builders, joiners and various small businesses and shops.
Economic challenges resulted in the closure of Esk Mills in 1968 and Valleyfield Mills in 1975, the latter having been owned by the Reed Group for the previous ten years. The era when Penicuik had been ‘The Papermaking Town’ came to an end after 266 years. In 1975, local government reorganisation meant that Penicuik ceased to be a Burgh with its own Council and Provost. Since the closure of the mills, Penicuik has grown primarily as a commuter and residential town. It is a popular place to live because of its proximity to Edinburgh and attractive local countryside.