Newtongrange () is a former

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

village in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbur ...

, Scotland. Known in local dialect as ''Nitten'', or ''Nitten by the Bing'' (), it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the

Lady Victoria Colliery The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...

and a shaft over 1600 feet deep. This closed in 1981 but today houses the National Mining Museum, an Anchor Point of ERIH - The

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

History

From its humble beginnings in 1843 with 100 souls, the church in Newtongrange grew to see its roll rise to over 1,000 in the 1950s. On 16 January 2003, the

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Newtongrange and Newbattle united to form a new Newbattle parish. The new parish is in fact that which existed before the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843. The Dean Tavern - geograph

Newtongrange is also home to the Dean Tavern, an example of a Gothenburg pub. The premise of Gothenburg pubs was that they were not to be attractive or welcoming, in order to discourage drinking and the sales of spirits was not to be encouraged. The shareholders of the trust were to receive a maximum return of 5% annually and all other profits were to be used to benefit the local community. The town treasury was to control this income and use it to provide libraries, museums, parks and other community facilities. The local coal companies were often a source of funds to establish these systems in Scotland.

Sport and leisure

Newtongrange Star F.C., who compete in the and play at New Victoria Park in the village. The original Victoria Park was used as a speedway training track in the 1950 and the trainees raced as Newtongrange Rockets. The sport was revived briefly in 1970 and in 1973. The team of 1970 was known as Newtongrange Saints while in 1973 the team were known as Edinburgh Monarchs. Victoria Park's track become the home to stock car racing before its closure and redevelopment for housing.

Economy

Black Diamond FM radio station is based in the village.

Transport

The village is served by Newtongrange railway station giving rail access to the Borders and Edinburgh Waverley station.

References

{{authority control Villages in Midlothian Mining communities in Scotland

History

Sport and leisure

Economy

Transport

See also

References