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Dalkeith

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Overview

Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, six miles southeast of Edinburgh in the Central Belt of Scotland. It's a commuter town for the city and had a population of 13,400 in 2016. The main attractions are the country park aro

Facts

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia1,663 words

WBP editorial3

A walk beyond the castle walls

While the silhouette of Dalkeith Palace dominates the skyline, the surrounding streets reveal a layered narrative of modest ambition. Start at the historic core and follow the river Esk downstream; the cobbled lanes open onto discreet courtyards where craftsmen still ply traditional trades, from textile weaving to stone carving. A short detour into Eskbank showcases late‑Victorian terraces framed by mature oak avenues, offering a glimpse of the town’s 19th‑century middle‑class expansion. Continue eastward to the Woodburn precinct, where community murals and pop‑up markets breathe contemporary life into a working‑class heritage. The route, easily covered on foot or by a hired bike, stitches together Dalkeith’s socioeconomic tapestry without the need for a guidebook.

Seasonal rhythm for the local palate

Dalkeey’s culinary calendar is quietly dictated by the river’s ebb and the surrounding farm lanes. Late summer brings the Eskbank Farmers’ Fair, where stallholders sell freshly harvested kale, blackberries and oatcakes still warm from the griddle. In autumn, the town’s public houses stage a ‘Lochside Larder’ series, pairing locally smoked haddock with a dram of Midlothian whisky, a nod to both the river’s bounty and the region’s distilling legacy. Winter sees the community centre host a modest haggis‑making workshop, inviting visitors to learn the craft under the watchful eye of a seasoned chef. Timing a visit to coincide with any of these events offers an authentic taste of Dalkeith’s seasonal rhythm.

What guidebooks miss: the local transport loop

Most visitors assume Dalkeith is best reached by car, yet the town’s modest bus network offers a surprisingly scenic loop. The number 51 service circles the four principal districts, stopping at the historic market square, the river’s edge, and the bustling Eskbank retail strip. A single‑ticket day pass lets travellers hop off at the heritage railway museum, a short walk from the former Dalkeith railway station, where preserved steam locomotives narrate the area’s industrial past. For cyclists, the Eskbank to Woodburn trail follows an old railway embankment, providing a low‑traffic corridor with panoramic views of the Esk. Leveraging these local routes reduces carbon footprint and uncovers neighbourhoods that a car‑centric itinerary would overlook.

Introduction

Town in Midlothian, Scotland This article is about the town in Scotland. For other places named Dalkeith, see Dalkeith (disambiguation). "Eskbank" redirects here. For the hamlet in Canada, see Eskbank, Saskatchewan. Town in ScotlandDalkeithScottish Gaelic: Dail CheithTownA view over the townscape of Dalkeith in 2007DalkeithLocation within MidlothianPopulation14,330 (2020)Council areaMidlothianLieutenancy areaMidlothianCountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townDALKEITHPostcode districtEH22Dialling code0131PoliceScotlandFireScottishAmbulanceScottish UK ParliamentMidlothianScottish ParliamentMidlothian North and Musselburgh List of places UK Scotland 55°53′45″N 3°03′30″W / 55.8958°N 3.0583°W / 55.8958; -3.0583 Dalkeith (/dælˈkiːθ/ dal-KEETH; Scottish Gaelic: Dail Cheith, pronounced [t̪al ˈçe]) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Palace). Dalkeith has a population of 12,342 people according to the 2011 census. 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; and Newbattle (a semi-rural village with its abbey) to the south. Dalkeith is the main administrative centre for Midlothian. It is twinned with Jarnac, 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 both Dalkeith High School and St David's Roman Catholic High School plus community leisure facilities.

Prehistory and archaeology

[edit] 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 the Neolithic.

History

[edit] Corn Exchange by David Cousin 1853 One of the earliest historical references to Dalkeith is found in the Chronicles of Jean Froissart, who stayed at Dalkeith Castle for fifteen days. He writes of the Battle of Otterburn and the death of James 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 of earl William Douglas, father to the same earl James, of whom I spake of now, in a castle of five leagues 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." In 1650, Oliver Cromwell's army came to Dalkeith. His officer General George Monck was Commander in Scotland, and the government of the country was based out of Dalkeith Castle. In 1831, Dalkeith was linked to Edinburgh by the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, which transported coal, minerals, and agricultural produce. Two decades later, in 1853, a Corn Exchange, at the time the largest indoor grain market in Scotland, was built. The population in 1841 was 4,831 inhabitants. In 1879, Dalkeith was where William Ewart Gladstone started his campaign for British Prime Minister, which became known as the "Midlothian campaign".

Notable buildings

[edit] St Nicholas Buccleuch Church Dalkeith Tolbooth The Municipal Buildings The Collegiate Church of St Nicholas Buccleuch, formerly known as Dalkeith Parish Church, stands on High Street. Dedicated to St Nicholas, this medieval church became a collegiate establishment in 1406, founded by Sir 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 wife Joanna, daughter of James I, are buried in the choir and have stone effigies. St Nicholas Buccleuch Church remains one of the two Church of Scotland parish churches in Dalkeith, the other being St John's and King's Park Church. The Episcopal Church, St Mary's is on High Street, at the entrance to Dalkeith Country Park. 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. 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 the Duke of Buccleuch, surrounded by parkland and follies. The building on High Street now known as Dalkeith Tolbooth dates from 1648 although it was reconstructed in the early 18th century. It incorporated prison cells in the basement, a weigh house on the ground floor and a courtroom on the first floor. In front of the building there is a circle of stones to mark the spot where the last public hanging in Dalkeith took place. William Thomson was hanged here for highway robbery in 1827. The Municipal Buildings in Buccleuch Street were completed in 1882. Other notable buildings include a Watch Tower at the cemetery (1827), a water tower and early 19th-century iron mills and the Masonic Temple or Lodge Rooms of the Dalkeith Kilwinning Masonic Lodge No.10 situated next to The Collegiate 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. There is a modern Church 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 the A7 road on the eastern edge of the neighbouring town of Bonnyrigg.

Notable people

[edit] Beetty Dick, town crier of Dalkeith Robert Aitken (1734–1802), Bible publisher Thomas Alison (1860–1931), painter Sir John Anderson (later 1st Viscount Waverley) (1882–1958), Home Secretary 1939–1940, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1943–1945 Brooke Combe, soul singer Edmund Thornton Crawford (1806–1885), artist Beetty Dick (1693–1773) one of a series of female town criers peculiar to Dalkeith Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742–1811), politician Fish (born Derek Dick) (b. 1958), former singer with Marillion Darren Fletcher (b. 1984), footballer with Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City John Kay (1742–1826), artist Robert Ker (1824–1879), First Auditor General of the Province of British Columbia Robert Macpherson (1814–1872), photographer David Mushet (1772–1847), pioneer of iron production Bob Pringle (1851–1902), professional golfer Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch (1746–1812), Scottish nobleman Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (1806–1884), nobleman, landowner and politician James Small (1740–1793), inventor Bobby Smith (1953–2010), footballer with Hibernian and Leicester City Robert Smith (1722–1777), American architect James Stagg (1900–1975), D-Day meteorologist Peter Guthrie Tait (1831–1901), mathematical physicist Aiden Moffat (1996–), racing driver Ryan Porteous (1999–), footballer with Hibernian and Watford Jacob Fearnley (2001–), Tennis Player

Transport

[edit] Until 2008, Dalkeith was on the A68, one of the main routes south from Edinburgh to Jedburgh and across the border to Darlington. 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 the A6106. Other main roads serving Dalkeith are: A6094 — leads SW towards Bonnyrigg and Peebles, and NE towards Musselburgh A768 — leads west from Eskbank to Lasswade and Loanhead B6373 — a road wholly within Dalkeith, leaving and rejoining the A6106 B6414 – leaves the A6094 on the NE edge of Dalkeith (at Woodburn) and leads NE to Tranent B6392 – runs north–south through Eskbank, and used to be the route of the A7 which leads from Edinburgh to Galashiels and Hawick B703 – leads south from Eskbank, through Newbattle, to Newtongrange B6482 – leaves the A6106 on the SE edge of Dalkeith (at Woodburn) and leads into Easthouses and Mayfield. The re-building of the northern section of the Waverley Railway Line re-connected Dalkeith to the national rail network after a gap of more than 40 years, with a station 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 by Lothian Buses; East Coast Buses and Borders Buses also serve the town. For walkers, the Penicuik–Dalkeith Walkway passes close by.

Sport

[edit] Football[edit] The town is home to Dalkeith Thistle F.C., based at King's Park. The club was formed in 1892 and now plays in the East of Scotland Football League, having spent most of its history in the Scottish Junior Football Association. The established club is affiliated to Dalkeith Thistle Community Football Club, based at Cowden Park, Woodburn; The club is 'SFA Quality Mark' accredited and run by volunteers. Rugby[edit] Dalkeith RFC play in the Scottish 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 include Sir David Murray, whose car crash on the way back from a match in North Berwick ended his rugby career and led to him focusing on his business empire. Adam Robson, who went on to become President of the Scottish Rugby Union, also played for the club.