Eddleston () is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It lies north of

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

and south of

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; ; ) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hil ...

on the A703, which passes through the centre of the village. Nearby is the

Great Polish Map of Scotland The ''Great Polish Map of Scotland'' is a large (50 m x 40 m) three-dimensional, outdoor concrete scale model of Scotland, located in the grounds of the Blackbarony, Barony Castle Hotel, outside the village of Eddleston near Peebles ...

, a large terrain map. The Eddleston Water runs through the village. According to the 2001 census, there were 129 households, with a population of 335 people, 47% male and 53% female. Eddleston contains a few farms outside of the village centre.

Barony Castle Barony Castle, also known as Black Barony, and formerly as Darnhall, is a historic house at Eddleston in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The house is currently operated as a hotel, under the name of Barony Castle Hotel, and is protected ...

(also known by its earlier name of Black Barony), in the village, dates back to the 16th century, and was the property of the

Murray Baronets There have been several Murray Baronetcies, all created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. Four of these baronetcy, baronetcies are extant. Murray baronets, of Cockpool (19 July 1625 — 1658) *Sir Richard Murray, 1st Baronet (died 1636) *John M ...

, as was nearby

Cringletie Cringletie is a Scottish Baronial house by the Eddleston Water, around south of Eddleston in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Peeblesshire. Designed by David Bryce and built in 1861, the house is a Category B listed buildin ...

, which is now a hotel.

Etymology

Eddleston's earliest recorded name was ''Penteiacob'', in

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

or Brittonic, and meant "headland of James's house". The Anglo-Gaelic of ''Gillemorestun'' of the 12th century AD meant "town of St Mary's lad", and gave rise to the current

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

name for the village, ''Baile Ghille Mhoire''. It became ''Edulfstun'' in 1189 when it was granted to Eadwulf, son of Uhtred. This became ''Edoluestone'' (circa 1200) and ''Edwylstone'' (circa 1305), and was eventually fully

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

to Eddleston by the 14th century.

The Great Polish Map of Scotland

The

is a three-dimensional concrete map in the grounds of the Barony Castle Hotel. It was constructed by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

geographers in the mid-1970s. The map was conceived partly in recognition of the hospitality afforded to Polish soldiers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The idea for the map originated with Jan Tomasik who was the proprietor of the hotel from 1968 to 1981. It was constructed over a three-year period from 1974. In September 2012 the Scottish Culture Secretary announced that the map had been awarded

category B listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern ...

status.

Eddleston Primary School

Eddleston primary school has been put in abeyance in 2022 following a significant drop in attendance; there is no secondary school, with pupils normally moving on to attend Peebles High School. The school moved to its current building in 1992.

Film record

The Cinema Museum in London holds several home movies shot by Dr. A.G.W. Thomson in the village in the late 1930s, Ref HM154-16

References

* Mulholland, H (1970), ''The

microlithic industries Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a cr ...

of the Tweed Valley''

External links

National Archives of Scotland record of Eddleston

RCAHMS record of Eddleston Railway BridgeScottish Borders Council leaflet: Improving the Eddleston Water for People and WildlifePeebles Old Parish Church of ScotlandWeb Historian site for Eddleston ParishBorders Family History Society: Eddleston
{{authority control Villages in the Scottish Borders Peeblesshire Parishes in Peeblesshire