| Midlothian | |
|---|---|
_-_Scotland.svg) Midlothian / Edinburghshire within Scotland | |
| History | |
| • Succeeded by | Lothian Region |
| Status | Local government county (until 1975) |
| Government | County: Edinburghshire County Council (1890–1947) Midlothian County Council (1947–1975) Formed most of Midlothian district (1975–1996) Forms most ofMidlothian council area (1996–) |
| • HQ | Edinburgh |
Midlothian is ahistoric county of Scotland. It emerged in theMiddle Ages as the territory surrounding the city ofEdinburgh within the widerLothian region, and was formally called the "shire of Edinburgh" orEdinburghshire until the 20th century. It borderedWest Lothian (Linlithgowshire) to the west,Lanarkshire,Peeblesshire andSelkirkshire to the south, andEast Lothian (Haddingtonshire),Berwickshire andRoxburghshire to the east. Traditional industries included mining, agriculture and fishing, important towns outwith Edinburgh beingDalkeith,Musselburgh andPenicuik. Having always had a degree of autonomy over its own affairs since being made acounty of itself in 1482, an Edinburgh City Corporation was formed in 1890, although it remained under Midlothian for some purposes. Conversely, the wider county was still administered within the city.
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 ofupper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Most of Midlothian formed a new, smaller district calledMidlothian within theLothian Region, with parts of the county's territory (including all the coastal territory at Musselburgh) went to theCity of Edinburgh,East Lothian andWest Lothian districts within the Lothian region, and to theEttrick and Lauderdale district in theBorders region.[1][2] This then became a standalonelocal authority area in the most recent major reorganisation enacted in 1996, retaining those same boundaries and name.
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Following the end of theRomanoccupation of Britain,Lothian was populated by Brythonic-speaking ancient Britons and formed part ofGododdin, within theHen Ogledd or Old North. In the seventh century, Gododdin fell to theAngles, with Lothian becoming part of the kingdom ofBernicia. Bernicia united into theKingdom of Northumbria which itself became part of the earlyKingdom of England. Lothian came under the control of the Scottish monarchy in the tenth century.
In the Middle Ages, Lothian was the scene of several historic conflicts between the kingdoms of Scotland and England. TheBattle of Roslin took place in 1303 atRoslin as part of theFirst War of Scottish Independence. A Scottish army led bySimon Fraser andJohn Comyn defeated an army led by English commanderJohn Segrave.
Along with other parts of the Lothians, the county was involved in theRough Wooing whenRoslin Castle, seat of theEarl of Caithness, was destroyed in 1544 by forces ofHenry VIII of England.
In the 17th century, the county featured in theWar of the Three Kingdoms, where GeneralGeorge Monck had his base atDalkeith Castle as theCommonwealth's Commander in Scotland.[3] Following the Restoration of the monarchy, the "Pentland Rising" in the region culminated with theBattle of Rullion Green in 1666, a decisive victory for theGovernment forces againstCovenanter rebels.
In 1650,Oliver Cromwell's army came to Dalkeith. His officer GeneralGeorge Monck, was commander in Scotland, and the government of the country was based out of Dalkeith castle.[4]
The 1878–1980Midlothian campaign by British Liberal politicianWilliam Ewart Gladstone entered history as an early example of modern political campaigning, resulting in Gladstone taking theMidlothian constituency from the long-time Conservative member of parliamentWilliam Montagu Douglas Scott and going on to becomePrime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The origins of the historic county of Midlothian are obscure; it emerged as ashire (the area controlled by asheriff) in theMiddle Ages, and was certainly in existence by the reign ofDavid I (reigned 1124–1153). It covered the central part of the former kingdom orprovince ofLothian, and was formally called the "shire of Edinburgh" or "Edinburghshire", although the alternative name "Midlothian" was also used from a very early date. Theburgh of Edinburgh became administratively independent from the surrounding county in 1482 whenJames III granted the burgh the right to appoint its own sheriff and coroner, making it acounty of itself.[5]
Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire in 1667, and served as the main administrative body for the county until electedcounty councils were created in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the commissioners' functions.[6] The commissioners for Edinburghshire, and the county council which followed them, did not have jurisdiction over the city of Edinburgh, which was administered by thetown council of the burgh.[7]
From its creation in 1890 the county council called itself "Midlothian County Council".[8] However, the legal name of the county remained the "county of Edinburgh" or "Edinburghshire". In 1913 the county council petitioned the government to formally change the name to Midlothian.[9] The government responded that it would direct all government departments to use Midlothian rather than Edinburghshire, but that a formal change of name needed to be done by statute and it could not justify the parliamentary time to make such a change.[10] The statutory change of name from Edinburghshire to Midlothian eventually took place in 1947, under section 127 of theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 43).[11] Midlothian County Council was based atMidlothian County Buildings, built in 1904 on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh on the site of the earlier County Buildings.[12]
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 ofupper-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 theCity of Edinburgh,East Lothian andWest Lothian districts within the Lothian region, and to theEttrick and Lauderdale district in theBorders region.[13][14]
The boundaries of the historic county, including the city of Edinburgh, are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[15] Forlieutenancy purposes, the lastlord-lieutenant of the county of Midlothian was made lord-lieutenant for the new district of Midlothian when the reforms came into effect in 1975.[16] The Midlothian lieutenancy area corresponds to the current council area rather than the historic county.[17] The former county council's headquarters in Edinburgh became the offices of the new Lothian Regional Council, whilst the Midlothian District Council established its headquarters in Dalkeith.[18]
The Lothian region was abolished in 1996; its four districts, including Midlothian, became unitarycouncil areas, sing the 1975 names and boundaries.[19]
The historic county has a roughly trapezoidal shape; it consists of a fairly flat area along theFirth of Forth, which is heavily urbanised and dominated by the Edinburgh conurbation. Off the coast lie the small islands ofInchmickery andCramond Island. The land gradually rises to the south, with thePentland Hills in the south-west,Moorfoot Hills in the centre-south and theLammermuir Hills in the far south-east.Blackhope Scar on the border with Peeblesshire is the highest point in the county at 651 m (2,136 ft). The county contains no lochs of any size, though there are many reservoirs, most notablyGladhouse Reservoir, Rosebery Reservoir,Edgelaw Reservoir,Loganlea Reservoir,Glencorse Reservoir,Threipmuir Reservoir,Harlaw Reservoir,Harperrig Reservoir, Crosswood Reservoir, Morton Reservoir andCobbinshaw Reservoir.
(Unitary authority indicated where not Midlothian. Boundaries defined byLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973)[20][21]
Abolished 1902:[23]
Abolished 1920[24]
The above list does not include parishes which have been within the City of Edinburgh for county purposes since 19th century, namely within the "County of the City" of which the Lord Provost was and is Lord Lieutenant.[25]