Midlothian

Midlothian is one of Scotland's 32 council areas and a historic county, registration county, and lieutenancy area. Bordering Edinburgh, East Lothian, and the Scottish Borders, Midlothian is located in the central-eastern Lowlands.

The county of Midlothian was established in the Middle Ages with boundaries that included modern-day Edinburgh and were known as Edinburghshire until 1921. It was bounded by East Lothian, Berwickshire, and Roxburghshire to the east, West Lothian to the west, Lanarkshire to the south, and Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire to the south. Mining, farming, and fishing were once major economic drivers in the region, but the modern council area has no access to the sea.

Geography

The historic county is roughly trapezoidal in form, with most of its land lying along the Firth of Forth, where it is relatively flat despite being heavily developed as part of the greater Edinburgh metropolitan area. The islands of Inchmickery and Cramond are located just off the coast. The Pentland Hills are located in the far south-west, the Moorfoot Hills in the mid-south, and the Lammermuir Hills in the far south-east, indicating a general southerly land rise. The 651-meter peak of Blackhope Scar, on the county's border with Peeblesshire, stands as its tallest natural feature (2,136 ft). While there are no significant lochs in the county, there are a number of reservoirs, including Gladhouse Reservoir, Rosebery Reservoir, Edgelaw Reservoir, Loganlea Reservoir, Glencorse Reservoir, Threipmuir Reservoir, Harlaw Reservoir, Harperrig Reservoir, Crosswood Reservoir, Morton Reservoir, and Cobbinshaw Reservoir.

History

Lothian was inhabited by Brythonic-speaking ancient Britons after the Roman occupation of Britain ended, and it was a part of Gododdin in the Hen Ogledd, also known as the Old North. Lothian was annexed to Bernicia after Gododdin was conquered by the Angles in the seventh century. Bernicia eventually merged into Northumbria, which was a part of the early English kingdom. In the tenth century, Lothian was formally annexed to the kingdom of Scotland.

Lothian was the scene of several major battles between the kingdoms of Scotland and England throughout the Middle Ages. In 1303, during the First War of Scottish Independence, the town of Roslin played host to the decisive Battle of Roslin. The English army under John Segrave was defeated by Simon Fraser and John Comyn of Scotland.

In 1544, Henry VIII of England's forces destroyed Roslin Castle, seat of the Earl of Caithness, drawing the county and the rest of the Lothians into the Rough Wooing.

During the War of the Three Kingdoms in the 17th century, General George Monck, the Commonwealth's Commander in Scotland, made Dalkeith Castle his home base. After the monarchy was restored, local rebels known as the "Pentlanders" staged a "Pentland Rising," which ended with a government victory at the Battle of Rullion Green in 1666.

Dalkeith was invaded in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell's forces. The Scottish government was headquartered at Dalkeith Castle, under the command of his officer, General George Monck. Liberal British politician William Ewart Gladstone ran a successful campaign in Midlothian from 1878 to 1880, unseating the incumbent Conservative MP, William Montagu Douglas Scott, and eventually becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Many of Scotland's county boundaries were redrawn and standardized in accordance with the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1889, which also created a unified system of county councils. This led to the establishment of the Midlothian County Council in 1890. Lothian Chambers in Edinburgh served as the seat of Midlothian County Council. Midlothian was made a district council in the Lothian region after local government reforms in 1975, and the current unitary council area was established in 1996. Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg, and Penicuik are all located there, as well as a portion of Pentland Hills Regional Park, Rosslyn Chapel, and Dalkeith Palace.

Sister Cities relations between Midlothian and Midlothian, Illinois were established on June 1, 1978.