Council area of Scotland
Lieutenancy and council area in Scotland
Midlothian (/m ɪ d ˈ l oʊ ð i ə n Scottish Gaelic :Meadhan Lodainn ) isregistration county ,lieutenancy area and one of 32council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands , bordering theCity of Edinburgh council area ,East Lothian and theScottish Borders . The modern council area was formed in 1975 when thehistoric county of Midlothian , also known as Edinburghshire, was altered substantially as part of local government reforms; its southern part formed a new MidlothianDistrict within theRegion ofLothian , whilst areas on the peripheries were assigned to other districts and the city of Edinburgh, which had always been autonomous to an extent, was formally separated as theCity of Edinburgh District. In 1996 Midlothian became a unitary authority area, using the same name and territory as in 1975.
Map contrasting the area comprising Midlothian council (dark blue) within the historic county of Midlothian (light blue). Midlothian County Council was abolished in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which abolished Scotland's counties and burghs as administrative areas and created a new two-tier system of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Most of Midlothian's territory went to a new district called Midlothian within theLothian region. The Midlothian district was smaller than the area of the pre-1975 county, parts of which went to other districts:[ 3] [ 4] Currie ,Balerno ,Ratho andNewbridge to thecity of Edinburgh ;Musselburgh burgh and parish ofInveresk (which included the villages ofInveresk ,Wallyford andWhitecraig ) toEast Lothian ;East Calder ,Mid Calder andWest Calder ) and the Midlothian part ofLivingston toWest Lothian ;Heriot andStow parishes to theEttrick and Lauderdale district of theBorders region.
The boundaries of the historic county of Midlothian, including the city of Edinburgh, are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county .[ 5] lieutenancy area corresponds to the current council area rather than the historic county.[ 6] lord-lieutenant of the county of Midlothian was made lord-lieutenant for the new district of Midlothian when the reforms came into effect in 1975.[ 7] [ 8]
In 1991 the council built itself a new headquarters called Midlothian House at 40-46 Buccleuch Street inDalkeith .[ 9]
The Lothian region was abolished in 1996. The four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitarycouncil areas .[ 10] Midlothian Council continues to be based at Midlothian House in Dalkeith.[citation needed
Midlothian House, Dalkeith There is aMidlothian constituency of the House of Commons .
There was aMidlothian constituency of the Scottish Parliament up to the 2011 elections when it was divided betweenMidlothian North and Musselburgh andMidlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale .[citation needed
TheGlencorse Reservoir in thePentland Hills The Midlothiancouncil area contains the towns ofDalkeith ,Bonnyrigg andPenicuik , as well as a portion of thePentland Hills Regional Park ,Rosslyn Chapel andDalkeith Palace .[citation needed
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 93,255 residents aged three and over, 31,635 (33.9%) considered themselves able to speak or read theScots language .[ 11]
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 93,257 residents aged three and over, 712 (0.8%) considered themselves able to speak or readGaelic .[ 12]
The largest settlements in Midlothian.
Largest settlements by population:
Settlement Population (2020)[ 13] Bonnyrigg 18,320
Penicuik 16,150
Dalkeith 14,330
Mayfield 13,690
Gorebridge 8,040
Loanhead 6,820
Danderhall 3,160
Rosewell 2,020
Roslin 1,770
Bilston 1,440
Midlothian has a modern road network as well as some rural single-track roads. TheBorders Railway runs between Tweedbank to Edinburgh, with four stations in Midlothian –Shawfair ,Eskbank ,Newtongrange andGorebridge .[ 14]
Notable people associated with Midlothian [ edit ] William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585–1649), Scottish poet.Princess Margaret of Scotland (1598–1600), daughter ofJames VI and I of Scotland and England (bornDalkeith Palace )John Clerk of Penicuik , 2nd Baronet (1676–1755), was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect.William Robertson (1721–1793), historian, minister in the Church of Scotland, and Principal of the University of EdinburghRobert Smith (1722–1777), American architect, based inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , born in DalkeithHector Macneill (1746–1818), poet and songwriter, born nearRoslin John Clerk, Lord Eldin (1757–1832), Scottish judge, lived inLasswade for several years.Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) wrote the novelThe Heart of Midlothian Lasswade from 1798 to 1804, where he wrote hisGrey Brother , translation ofGoetz von Berlichingen Wordsworth .William Tennant (1784–1848), the author ofAnster Fair , was parish schoolmaster inLasswade from 1816 to 1819.Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859), author ofConfessions of an English Opium-Eater Polton , from 1840 until his death in 1859.Thomas Murray (1792–1872), the Gallovidian author, died in Lasswade.Anne Richelieu Lamb (1807–1878), feminist writerWilliam Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), MP for Midlothian 1880–1895 and conducted his famousMidlothian campaign across the UK in 1880Patrick Edward Dove (1815–1873), mainly remembered for his bookThe Theory of Human Progression , born at LasswadeJohn Lawson Johnston (1839–1900), the creator ofBovril , born at Roslin.Charles W. Nibley (1849–1931), Scottish-American religious leader inthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nibley was served as second counselor in theFirst Presidency toHeber J. Grant (1925–31), andPresiding Bishop (1907–25).Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869–1959) ofGlencorse , Nobel prize-winning physicist.George Forrest (1873–1932), a plant collector who gained fame with his expeditions to the far east who spent a significant part of his early years in Loanhead.Sir William MacTaggart (1903–1981), artist, and grandson of the artist William McTaggart, he became President of the Society of Scottish Artists, President of theRoyal Scottish Academy , and Trustee of theNational Museum of Antiquities .Charles Forte, Baron Forte (1908–2007), the hotelier, worked in an Italian cafe in Loanhead, on his arrival in Scotland from Italy.Karl Miller (1931–2014), founding editor of theLondon Review of Books University College, London (1974–1992), born inStraiton .Annette Crosbie (born 1934), actress, born inGorebridge Ishbel MacAskill (1941–2011), heritage activist and traditional Scottish Gaelic singer and teacherFish (singer) (born 1958), former lead singerMarillion 1981-1987 and song based on his birth county,Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile) Gary Naysmith from Loanhead (born 1978), international Footballer, played forHeart of Midlothian andEverton , named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year in 1998, won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998Darren Fletcher (born 1984), from Mayfield. international footballer, holds the record of being the youngest player to captain the national side, was part of the Manchester United squad that won the UEFA Champions League in 2008Steven Whittaker from Bonnyrigg, (born 1984), international footballer, played mainly for Hibernian and RangersSchools in Midlothian [ edit ] Bilston Primary School,Bilston Bonnyrigg Primary School,Bonnyrigg Burnbrae Primary School,Hopefield Cornbank St James Primary School,Penicuik Cuiken Primary School, Penicuik Danderhall Primary School,Danderhall Easthouses Primary School,Mayfield Gore Glen Primary School,Gorebridge Gorebridge Primary School, Gorebridge Hawthornden Primary School, Bonnyrigg King's Park Primary School,Dalkeith Lasswade Primary School,Lasswade Lawfield Primary School, Mayfield Loanhead Primary School,Loanhead Mauricewood Primary School, Penicuik Mayfield Primary School, Mayfield Moorfoot Primary School,North Middleton Newtongrange Primary School,Newtongrange Paradykes Primary School, Loanhead Rosewell Primary School,Rosewell Roslin Primary School,Roslin Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Penicuik St Andrews's RC Primary School Gorebridge St David's RC Primary School Dalkeith St Luke's RC Primary School, Mayfield St Margaret's RC Primary School, Loanhead St Mary's RC Primary School, Bonnyrigg St Matthew's RC Primary School, Rosewell Stobhill Primary School, Gorebridge Strathesk Primary School, Penicuik Tynewater Primary School,Pathhead Woodburn Primary School,Woodburn Twin towns and sister cities [ edit ] Midlothian istwinned withKomárom-Esztergom , Hungary andKreis Heinsberg , Germany. Since 1978 it is a sister city withMidlothian, Illinois , a suburb ofChicago a town ofIllinois .[ 15]
^ "Your council" .Midlothian Council . Retrieved22 December 2024 .^a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, United Kingdom, June 2024" .Office for National Statistics . Retrieved26 September 2025 .^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973" ,legislation.gov.uk The National Archives , 1973 c. 65, retrieved24 December 2022 ^ "Boundaries viewer" .National Library of Scotland . Retrieved24 December 2022 .^ "Land Mass Coverage Report" (PDF) . Registers of Scotland. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved16 May 2015 .^ "The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996" ,legislation.gov.uk The National Archives , SI 1996/731, retrieved16 December 2022 ^ "The Lord-Lieutenants Order 1975" ,legislation.gov.uk The National Archives , SI 1975/428, retrieved27 November 2022 ^ "No. 19730" .The Edinburgh Gazette ^ "Remember when" .Edinburgh Evening News . 7 September 2016. Retrieved24 December 2022 .^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994" ,legislation.gov.uk The National Archives , 1994 c. 39, retrieved16 December 2022 ^ [1] ^ [https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/webapi/opentable?id=019a2022-ecdd-77ea-96ad-569f0c5b3786 ^ "Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020" .National Records of Scotland . 31 March 2022. Retrieved31 March 2022 .^ "Borders Railway Line - Edinburgh to Tweedbank" .VisitScotland . Retrieved4 August 2025 .^ "Illinois Member List updated June 2015 »" .www.illinoissistercities.org . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved29 March 2018 .
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