Dalkeith
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  Dalkeith Location withinMidlothian | |
| Population | 14,330 (2022)[1] |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DALKEITH |
| Postcode district | EH22 |
| Dialling code | 0131 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°53′45″N3°03′30″W / 55.8958°N 3.0583°W /55.8958; -3.0583 | |
Dalkeith (/dælˈkiːθ/dal-KEETH;Scottish Gaelic:Dail Cheith,pronounced[t̪alˈçe]) is a town inMidlothian,Scotland, on theRiver Esk. It was granted aburgh of barony in 1401 and aburgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (nowDalkeith Palace).Dalkeith has a population of 12,342 people according to the 2011 census.[2]
The town is divided into four distinct areas: Dalkeith proper with its town centre and historic core; Eskbank (considered to be the well-heeled neighbourhood of Dalkeith with many large Victorian and newer houses) to its west; Woodburn (primarily a working class council estate with pockets of new housing developments) to its east; andNewbattle (a semi-rural village withits abbey) to the south.[3][4]
Dalkeith is the main administrative centre for Midlothian. It is twinned withJarnac, France. In 2004, Midlothian Council re-paved Jarnac Court in honour of Dalkeith and Jarnac's long standing link.
On the north-eastern edge of Dalkeith at Woodburn is the Dalkeith Campus (completed 2003) – housing bothDalkeith High School andSt David's Roman Catholic High School plus community leisure facilities.[5]
Dalkeith is understood to be aCumbric name, cognate with Welshddôl 'meadow, plateau, valley' +coed 'wood'.[6]
During the construction of the Dalkeith Northern Bypass in 1994-95 and 2006-08 (final construction was delayed for over a decade) archaeologists, working for CFA Archaeology, uncovered many archaeological features and information on the prehistory and history of the area. Their findings included two ring-groove structures, two pit alignments, a Roman temporary camp, a post-medieval building, an 18th-century designed landscape, and two industrial sites with a brick and tile works and a coal pit engine house. Given the wide area covered they were able to surmise the general settlement patterns of Dalkeith over the centuries. Settlement and land use was concentrated on the sands and gravels of the river terraces and only a bit of human occupation on the compacted clays that are found throughout the area. They also determined that people had been living in the Dalkeith area since theNeolithic.[7]
One of the earliest historical references to Dalkeith is found in the Chronicles ofJean Froissart, who stayed at Dalkeith Castle for fifteen days. He writes of theBattle of Otterburn and the death ofJames Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas:
"I, author of this book, in my youth had ridden nigh over all the realm of Scotland, and I was then fifteen days in the house ofearl William Douglas, father to the same earl James, of whom I spake of now, in a castle of fiveleagues from Edinburgh which is called in the country Dalkeith. The same time I saw there this earl James, a fair young child, and a sister of his called the lady Blanche."[8]
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.[9]
In 1831, Dalkeith was linked to Edinburgh by theEdinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, which transported coal, minerals, and agricultural produce. Two decades later, in 1853, aCorn Exchange, at the time the largest indoorgrain market in Scotland, was built.[10]
In 1879, Dalkeith was whereWilliam Ewart Gladstone started his campaign for British Prime Minister, which became known as the "Midlothian campaign".[11]
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TheCollegiate Church of St Nicholas Buccleuch, formerly known as Dalkeith Parish Church, stands on High Street. Dedicated toSt Nicholas, this medieval church became a collegiate establishment in 1406, founded bySir James Douglas. The nave and transepts date from 1854, when the inside of the church was greatly altered. The chancel was abandoned in 1590, walled off from the rest of the church, and is now ruinous.Sir James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton, and his wifeJoanna, daughter ofJames I, are buried in the choir and have stone effigies. St Nicholas Buccleuch Church remains one of the twoChurch of Scotland parish churches in Dalkeith, the other being St John's and King's Park Church. TheEpiscopal Church, St Mary's is on High Street, at the entrance to Dalkeith Country Park.[12]St David's Church, on Eskbank Road, is the only Roman Catholic church in the town, it is a category A listed building and was built in 1854.[13]
Dalkeith Palace which replaced the castle in the late 16th century and was rebuilt in the early 18th century, lies at the north-east edge of the town. It is a former seat of theDuke of Buccleuch, surrounded by parkland andfollies.
The building on High Street now known asDalkeith Tolbooth dates from 1648 although it was reconstructed in the early 18th century.[14] It incorporated prison cells in the basement, a weigh house on the ground floor and a courtroom on the first floor.[15] In front of the building there is a circle of stones to mark the spot where the lastpublic hanging in Dalkeith took place. William Thomson was hanged here for highway robbery in 1827.[16] TheMunicipal Buildings in Buccleuch Street were completed in 1882.[17]
Other notable buildings include a Watch Tower at the cemetery (1827),[18] a water tower and early 19th-century iron mills and theMasonic Temple or Lodge Rooms of the Dalkeith Kilwinning Masonic Lodge No.10 situated next to TheCollegiate Church of St Nicholas Buccleuch in the high street completed in 1766.
Edinburgh College has its Midlothian Campus in Eskbank, close to the railway station.[19]
There is a modernChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormon) meeting house on Newbattle Road.
Midlothian Community Hospital is just outside Dalkeith, located off theA7 road on the eastern edge of the neighbouring town ofBonnyrigg.
Until 2008, Dalkeith was on theA68, one of the main routes south from Edinburgh toJedburgh and across the border toDarlington. A bypass to take traffic away from the town centre was completed in September 2008; this then took the A68 number, and the old route of the A68 is now theA6106.[20]
Other main roads serving Dalkeith are:
The re-building of the northern section of theWaverley Railway Line re-connected Dalkeith to the national rail network after a gap of more than 40 years, with astation at Eskbank on the western edge of Dalkeith. Construction commenced in late 2012, and the line re-opened to passenger services on 6 September 2015.
Bus services in Dalkeith are mostly run byLothian Buses;East Coast Buses andBorders Buses also serve the town.
For walkers, thePenicuik–Dalkeith Walkway passes close by.
The town is home toDalkeith Thistle F.C., based at King's Park.[21] The club was formed in 1892 and now plays in theEast of Scotland Football League, having spent most of its history in theScottish Junior Football Association.
The established club is affiliated to Dalkeith Thistle Community Football Club, based at Cowden Park, Woodburn;[22] The club is 'SFA Quality Mark' accredited and run by volunteers.
Dalkeith RFC play in theScottish Rugby Union East Leagues. The club was the first in Midlothian to open full membership to women and the first in the county to run a women's side. Notable former players includeSir David Murray, whose car crash on the way back from a match inNorth Berwick ended his rugby career and led to him focusing on his business empire. Adam Robson, who went on to become President of theScottish Rugby Union, also played for the club.
Dalkeith istwinned withJarnac in France.
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