Rosewell, Midlothian
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rosewell is a former mining village in
Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, 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 Edinburgh council ar ...
, Scotland, east of Roslin and south-west of Bonnyrigg. The village is in the
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 ...
of Lasswade and was previously a separate ecclesiastical parish,Gazetteer of Scotland, 2nd edition, by W. Groome, publ. 1896. Article on Rosewell but has its own
Community Council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
, namely Rosewell and District. The population of the village was 1,566 according to the 2011 Census but is significantly greater since the number of houses has doubled in the last 20 years.Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Oct 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Settlement


History

The colliery village was established by Archibald Hood, mining engineer and entrepreneur, who developed the Whitehill Colliery from 1856, which was located on the south-western edge of the village. He began a new shaft at the colliery in 1878, built railways for the mines (branching from the Peebles Railway) and erected well-designed houses for the miners, and also encouraged the establishment of a Co-operative Retail Society. In 1890 he amalgamated his company with the mining interests of the Marquess of Lothian to form the Lothian Coal Company. The colliery was named after Whitehill House to the east and was also known as Rosewell. On 1 January 1947 the National Coal Board took over the colliery from the Lothian Coal Company, when mines in Britain were nationalised. The colliery had 3 deep shafts and one surface mine. It reached peak production in 1950, but closed in 1961. Canmore website of Historic Environment Scotland, formerly Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) https://canmore.org.uk/site/132549 - retrieved Nov 2016 Archibald Hood lived at ''Rosedale'' in the south of the village, which is now a category C listed building. This is a mid 19th century two storey gabled house which was later used by the Lothian Coal Company as a house for its managers, in particular his son James Archibald Hood. The Rosewell Institute, in Carnethie Street, was built for the Lothian Coal Company as a miners' institute in 1917. The Institute was built on an impressive scale with finely detailed sandstone features. Rosewell was served by a railway station lying between Rosewell and Hawthornden. The station opened in 1855 under the name '' Hawthornden'', but was renamed ''Rosewell and Hawthornden'' in 1928. It was served by the Peebles Railway, a branch line of the Waverley Line. Services ran from Peebles to Waverley Station in Edinburgh. The station was closed in 1962 but the line remained in use for goods traffic until 1967, although the colliery had already closed by then.


Schools

Rosewell has two primary schools, namely Rosewell Primary School and St Matthew's (Catholic) Primary School. The village is in the catchment area for Lasswade High School, and St David's Catholic High School.


Transport

Rosewell is served by Lothian Buses. Service 46 runs every 30 minutes, and once an hour on Sundays and serves Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith, Danderhall, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Newcraighall and
Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...
. Since 2023, unlike the predecessor service 49, it no longer runs into central
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. The X31 serves Rosewell early mornings (to Edinburgh) and evenings (from Edinburgh). For walkers and cyclists the Penicuik–Dalkeith Walkway passes close by.


Churches

The village has two churches, Rosewell Parish Church (
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
) and St Matthew's Roman Catholic Church. Rosewell Parish Church was built 1871-72 and opened for worship in 1874, when Rosewell became a separate ecclesiastical parish. The population of this new ''quoad sacra'' parish was recorded as 1,394 in 1881. In 2008 Rosewell Parish Church was formally re-united with Lasswade Church, forming Lasswade and Rosewell Parish Church (with a single minister and Kirk Session, although retaining both places of worship).


Whitehill House

Situated half a mile south-east of the village, the category A-listed Whitehill House is a large Tudor-Jacobean revival house designed by David Bryce and
William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...
, built 1844 as a home for Wardlaw Ramsay, proprietor of the nearby Whitehill Colliery. The house was later acquired by the engineer Archibald Hood. In World War I it was used as a Red Cross hospital. The Scottish nurse, suffragist and writer Flora Masson worked there. Until the late 1990s, Whitehill House was run by nuns of the
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...
as St. Joseph's Hospital for children with learning disabilities. St. Joseph's also provided care for adults with learning disabilities. It was visited by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
when he visited Scotland in 1982. Since the hospital closed, the charity St Joseph's Services continues to support people with learning disabilities in houses across Midlothian. They have their headquarters in Carnethie Street, Rosewell. Whitehill House is now privately owned and has a 20-hole (18 holes plus 2 bonus holes) golf course in its grounds. A number of exclusive houses have also been built in the grounds.


Football

Whitehill Welfare play their home matches at Ferguson Park, Rosewell. They currently play in the East of Scotland First Division. Heart of Midlothian B played their Lowland League matches at Ferguson Park for the 2022-23 season. Born in Rosewell, Tom Wilson played for Whitehill in the 1950s before joining
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
and then having a successful career in English professional football.


Sources

;General Reference
Scotland National Tourist Board entry
;Citations


External links


Vision of Britain - History of Rosewell in Midlothian
{{authority control Villages in Midlothian