Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik

Posted on March 14, 2013 by kenb

: Free Gardeners Lodge, Penicuik 1908

The Black Collection is a remarkable record about Penicuik and surrounding area from 1880 to 1930. It is named after James Black and his son Robert, who assembled a mass of material about life in Penicuik. The collection includes research and lecture notes, newspaper cuttings, notebooks, postcards, photograph albums and many other items.

Amongst the collection is a large ammount of material about the Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik. The Ancient Order of Free Gardeners was a fraternal society that was founded in Scotland in the middle of the seventeenth century. It later spread to England and Ireland although it was principally a Scottish phenomenon. Like numerous other friendly societies of the time, its principal aim was to share knowledge amongst those working in a particular profession and also to provide mutual aid and insurance for its membership. In the nineteenth century, the latter activity became predominant. The Free Gardeners always remained independent of Freemasonry, but the history and organisation of the two orders show numerous similarities. By the end of the twentieth century, the Gardeners had become almost entirely extinct.

Free Gardeners Lodge, Penicuik 1909

The Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik was formed in June 1822 from members of an earlier order called the Hand Papermakers’ Society (Penicuik was a centre of the paper making industry). The Gardeners were a highly visible presence in Penicuik and held annual walks and feasts, church services, concerts, sales of work and excursions. The Order had very specific rules and members were entitled to wear special regalia, sashes and badges. It would appear that in Penicuik at any rate membership was not very restrictive and open to almost everybody (except, of course, women).

Gardeners demonstration on Bridge Street, Penicuik 1909

Robert E Black, who compiled the Black collection, was an enthusiastic member of the Penicuik Gardeners and at one time acted as secretary of the local branch. His collection contains a good deal of material about the local Order, including dinner menus, press cuttings, concert programmes and photographs of members. As secretary of the Gardeners, he wrote a short history of the Order in Penicuik which was published in 1910. His collection is a treasure trove for any researcher with an interest in this little known but important aspect of Scottish culture.

Page from scrapbook on the Free Gardeners, Penicuik

The Mauricewood Disaster September 1889

Posted on February 14, 2013 by kenb

Mauricewood Colliery from the Illustrated London News

On 5 September 1889, the Mauricewood Colliery near Penicuik was the scene of the worst mining disaster in the history of the Lothians. An underground fire claimed the lives of 63 workers, including some as young as 13-years-old.

Following the accident, a Mauricewood Disaster Relief Committee was established in Penicuik to care for the dependents of the deceased. The committee was comprised of important local worthies, including the adventure novelist SR Crockett who was then a minister of the Free Church in Penicuik.

The Reverend SR Crockett

The Relief Committee raised money to help those who had been bereaved by the disaster. It is worth remembering that there was no welfare state in the late nineteenth century. As a result of the disaster, many households in the Penicuik area lost their only wage earner and would have been left destitute if the committee had not intervened.

The original minute book of the Mauricewood Relief Committee has recently been donated to the Penicuik Historical Society. It is a fascinating document that illustrates Victorian charity and welfare provision in action.

The Victorians have a reputation as being stern and uncaring, but the minute book suggests that, in this case at least, they were surprisingly sympathetic and compassionate.

Money for the disaster fund was raised by voluntary donations. The relief committee, which was entirely unpaid, began their work by compiling a list of victims of the disaster and the names of their dependents. It was calculated that 96 children had lost their fathers. Financial support was given to widows, children up to the age of 14, and to elderly parents who were unable to work for themselves. Pregnant widows received money for their unborn babies. A doctor was employed to administer to the medical needs of bereaved families.

However, there were also strict rules about who could receive support and not every application for assistance was granted. For example, widows who had started work or remarried were immediately cut off.

The original minute book of the Mauricewood Relief Committee was received in a poor condition, but it has been professionally restored and is now in the care of the Penicuik Historical Society. An electronic scan of the book has been prepared and can be consulted in Midlothian Local Studies in Loanhead along with other information about the disaster.

The Official Report on the Mauricewood Disaster

There must be an upside to all this work…

Posted on January 19, 2012 by francesw

We’re mad busy at East Lothian Archives getting ready for our move to John Gray Centre in a few weeks. Packing, cataloguing, cleaning, blogging – you name it we’re doing it. The website for the new centre began its user testing this week (and will launch to the public shortly) so many hours have been spent writing content, checking the details and uploading catalogues to make our collections as accessible as possible. With one search visitors will gets results from all heritage services in East Lothian – Museums, Archaeology, Local History and Archives. It’s been an amazing amount of work but we’re really pleased with the results.

All our work and the creation of a new building is having a positive effect on our profile in East Lothian which has already led to an increase in donations. Earlier this week a gentleman visited us to hand over documents of Haddington Inspector of the Poor form the early 19^th century. It’s a fabulous collection that he had been holding onto for some years and now feels that East Lothian’s new Archive will be the best place for it. The collection includes details of a soup kitchen that was set up to feed the destitute, a list of paupers for Haddington and an appeal by the Inspector to Whitehall asking for money for the passage to Australia of two children of a convict who had been sent there.

Hopefully this will be only one of many fabulous new accessions we receive – there has to be a upside side to all this work!

Wellington Farm Reform School

Posted on November 22, 2011 by BdBlackHat

School Children c.1895

The admission records of the Wellington Reform Farm School in Leadburn provide a rare glimpse into the lives of young offenders and nineteenth century approaches to understanding and ‘reforming’ juvenile delinquency. The admission applications and certificates are a rare survival of detailed individual records and help to tell the story of children from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances.

Although life as a ‘delinquent’ child during the Victoria era was certainly not easy, social reforms concerning the treatment of young offenders changed the way children were punished. Reforms ensured that juvenile offenders were no longer held for long periods in adult prisons and increasingly, most children were given access to some form of education or training.

By 1860, there were 27 reformatories in Scotland. Life in nineteenth-century schools like the Wellington Reform Farm School in Leadburn was highly disciplined and strictly regimented. Days usually began at 6am and ended at 7pm-every hour was accounted for with set times for schooling, learning trades, housework, religious worship, exercise and meal times. Nonetheless, the purpose of the reformatories was not only to instil discipline and ‘reform the character’ but also to provide basic education and training in a trade such as shoemaking, tailoring, wood chopping and carpentry-reformatories for girls taught cookery and domestic skills.

Offenders between seven and fourteen years of age could serve a sentence in a reformatory. The most common offence committed by children was theft and this was considered to be serious enough to warrant sending a child to a reform school, often for several years. Sadly, the stolen items were frequently food stuffs and it is likely that the children were driven to theft out of hunger and poverty. Although reformatories were undoubtedly punitive institutions, they did provide regular meals and essential clothing to children who would otherwise go without.

The following are examples of application and admission papers from the Wellington Reformatory Farm School between 1860 and 1861.


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The Reverend Dr. James Maitland

Posted on June 9, 2011 by jennifert

The Reverend Dr. James Maitland was an influential figure in the early years of Livingston New Town. In January 1966, he was inducted as the Church of Scotland minister for the Livingston Ecumenical Experiment, in a joint ceremony with the Rev. Brian Hardy of the Episcopal Church. This bold venture was an expression of unity between the churches, and helped to foster a sense of community among the first residents of the New Town in the 1960s and 1970s. The churches shared their pastoral duties, buildings and resources, and even held joint services for their growing congregation. The Episcopal Church, the Church of Scotland and the Congregational Church were the founding churches of the Experiment, with the Methodists joining in 1968.

The Archive Service holds a collection of the Rev. Dr. James Maitland’s private records, which includes collected papers, diaries, newspaper cuttings, reports and minutes. They provide an insight into the pivotal role that the Rev. Maitland played in church and community life. He was an active figure in the development of community forums, which gave voice to the concerns of local residents and helped people to share their experiences of adapting to their new environment.

The Rev. Maitland also chaired the Leaking Flats Committee, and helped establish such projects as “Growing up in Livingston” which aimed to create a sense of community and inclusion amongst the town’s young people. His concern for education and environment is evident within the archive collection, which includes extensive notes on the subject. With the involvement of the town’s younger residents, James Maitland and others came up with innovative approaches to the social problems affecting those growing up in the New Town. Particular measures included the setting up of Neighbourhood Houses, which could act as focal points for community work.

One of the crowning achievements of the Ecumenical Experiment was the building of the Lanthorn, in Dedridge, which was officially opened in 1977. This represented a further step towards unity, because the design of the building allowed Roman Catholic services to take part in the same premises as those of the other denominations.

The Centre was built by Lothian Region Council, West Lothian District Council and Livingston Development Corporation along with the churches of the Ecumenical Experiment. In his pamphlet, Living Stones, James Maitland wrote of the spirit of cooperation that created the Lanthorn, which he described as ‘a place where people could meet easily and naturally and begin to find what life in community can really mean.’

The papers also record James Maitland’s ideas on the importance of compassion and care for those marginalised by society, and the role of church unity in the creation of community. Many of these ideas were expressed in his book “New Beginnings: Breaking Through to Unity”, published in 1998, and the Archive contains some of its early drafts. The Rev. Dr. James Maitland left a significant legacy to the Livingston community, which can be explored in his own words through this absorbing collection.

Loanhead Subscription Library

Posted on March 25, 2011 by kenb

Loanhead Library Subscribers' list

Midlothian Local Studies holds two volumes from the Loanhead Subscription Library: a minute book dating from 1818 to 1850 and a record of borrowings between 1832 and 1855.

The Loanhead Subscription Library was established in May 1818 ‘as a means of diffusing useful knowledge to a great number of persons in and about the neighbourhood whose circumstances and life will not admit of the purchasing of books upon an enlarged scale’.

The minute book lists office bearers and 21 ‘articles’ or rules for the running of the library. There is also a list of the 56 original subscribers which included two women, Miss Christie and Miss Helen Dickson. Other women joined the library later.

Members of the library committee who were absent from meetings were fined 1s, and this rule was rigidly enforced.

The library was housed in the Loanhead Subscription School, so called because it was erected by public subscription. The building became known as Park’s School after the name of its first headmaster.

Loanhead Library Loans December 1835

The record of borrowings provides a fascinating insight into the types of books that the library held and also what members were reading. Predictably, the novels of Sir Walter Scott were much in demand and were regularly borrowed. Other popular authors were Tobias Smollett, Henry Fielding and Henry Mackenzie. Non-fiction was also read, including works on history, politics, travel and science.

Around 1840, the library seems to have run into some difficulties, but the committee turned down a suggestion that it be amalgamated with Lasswade Library. The last minute of the library committee is dated 12 February 1850 but books were still being borrowed in 1855.

It would be interesting to know what happened to the book stock once the library was discontinued and whether any of the books survive.

In 1901, Loanhead Town Council turned down an offer from the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to build a new public library in the town. The local Miners’ Welfare Institution held a small number of books but it was not until the late 1960s that a new public library was finally opened for the reading public in Loanhead.

The Original Bouncing Baby?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by emmap

By Rhona Gordon

Shortly before the compulsory registration of BDM’s, Janet Duncan, daughter of deceased Robert Duncan, Shoemaker of Linlithgow gave birth to an illegitimate child on 16^th December 1854. The father she claimed was Peter Hardie, also a Shoemaker of Linlithgow.

Shortly after the birth, the grandmother Mrs Duncan took the child to the house of Peter Hardie, went inside and laid the child down in a bed and left. That same evening the child was removed from Hardies’ house and taken back to the Duncan’s house, only to be retaken back to the Hardie house. Perhaps this is where the term bouncing baby came from? Peter Hardie then applied to the Inspector of the Poor to relieve him of the child, which the Inspector was obliged to do in the meantime. What he did with the child is not noted.

The case was brought to the attention of the Parochial Board of the Parish at their monthly meeting of 9/01/1855. The Inspector was instructed to employ an agent to raise an action against the putative father Peter Hardie to establish the paternity.

However, by the next meeting of the Parochial Board on 13/02/1855 the Inspector, despite a number of witnesses, had been unable to ascertain what he considered sufficient evidence to prove paternity but thought that there was further evidence to be got which he was trying to obtain. As such he thought it best to delay any action to sue for paternity in the meantime.

The Board, he said, could consider if there was a case against the mother for criminal prosecution for deserting the child, as she was now in a position, was earning wages sufficient enough to enable her to contribute towards its maintenance. The Board agreed that if she refused to support the child, the Inspector was to raise a criminal action against her.

As the case was not again mentioned in the meeting minutes and as the child born in December 1854 was not registered, we would never know what happened to it. However, a registration of death on 15/06/1856 of Peter Duncan, at the tender age of 19 months gave his mother as Jessie Duncan (no father).

What happened to Janet? Janet Duncan married William Stalker on at Linlithgow on 31/12/1857. A daughter Catherine Calder Stalker was born 14/3/1858. All three immigrated to America, arriving in New York on 21/5/1859.

TB: Vampires and Sunshine Cures

Posted on January 10, 2011 by peterc

Craiglockhart Hospital and Poorhouse, Tuberculosis Sanitorium, c. 1890s - early 1900s

Warm sunshine and fresh air – something that perhaps all of us are longing for during this coldest of Scottish winters. Such a therapeutic approach formed the basis of treatment of one very common disease in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Edinburgh’s Craiglockhart Hospital and Poorhouse - an institution that cared for infants, the elderly, the poor and the ill – was one place adopting this therapy. Edinburgh City Archives hold a wonderful collection of photographs of the institution from the turn of the last century. Although the photographs were carefully composed, the images give the viewer a glimpse of life inside the hospital’s walls. They are very much images of their time and show how certain serious illnesses were treated before later developments in medical science.

The image above is a photograph of a Tuberculosis ward at Craiglockhart Hospital and Poorhouse. Tuberculosis or TB is a highly infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Although TB can affect other organs, the bacterium commonly attacks the lungs and is transmitted to others via the coughs and sneezes of an infected person. Left untreated, tuberculosis is often fatal.TB has a long history; the disease has been detected in human remains dating from 7000 BC. Before the Mycobacterium tuberculosis responsible for the chronic cough, night sweats and wasting associated with the illness were identified by Robert Koch in 1882, Consumption and Phthisis were the names most commonly given to the disease. Throughout the 19^th century, consumption was one of the most frequently cited causes of death in Europe and it is estimated that the disease claimed the lives of 100 million people worldwide throughout the 20^th century.

Although tuberculosis became known as a disease of the urban poor, it affected individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Famous sufferers include Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Curiously, throughout the 19^th century, the disease’s association with notable people and literary figures afforded a certain mystique and allure to an illness which physically ravaged and wasted its victims. In the past, TB was sometimes associated with vampirism as many believed sufferers slowly drained the health and vitality of others around them.

Once the nature of the disease was better understood, public health campaigns urged people to avoid coughing and sneezing carelessly and spitting in public places. These measures went some way to preventing the spread of the disease. Numerous Sanatoria were also established which isolated infected individuals and offered treatments of limited effectiveness such as bed-rest, sunshine, fresh air and good nutrition. In the late nineteenth-century, the Craiglockhart Hospital and Poorhouse adopted this approach to the treatment of TB.

This image of a group of TB patients typifies the environment and methods used to treat the disease during this period. Patients were located in a separate ward away from other hospital residents, usually in a specially adapted room with windows, often open, to let in fresh air and sunlight. Although some sufferers placed in Sanatoria did recover from their illness, it was not until the development of the antibiotic streptomycin in 1946 that successful treatment and cure were possible.

If you would like to see other photographs of the Craiglockhart Hospital and Poorhouse, click here.

Jamie Gorrie: a Penicuik Character

Posted on December 3, 2010 by kenb

Jamie Gorrie

Amongst the cllection is an obituary to Jamie Gorrie, a well known Penicuik character.

Jamie Gorrie: a Penicuik Character
From the Midlothian Journal 24 January 1890

Jamie Gorrie’s Tree Fallen

Every native of Penicuik will hear with regret that the recent storm has demolished “Jamie Gorrie’s tree.” This fir tree, which is situated in the Bog Wood, on Sir George D. Clerk’s estate has been for nearly half a century the favourite pleasure haunt of the children of the village and round its base they have played together while the boys and even girls vied with each other in reaching the highest point and cutting their names in the wood. The result was that a considerable portion near the top was covered with names of boys and girls, who are now grown up and many of them gone to different parts of the world. The tree is 77 feet in length and two feet from the base measures 4 feet 2 inches in circumference.

From the appearance of the tree as it lies it would seem that its fall is due not to the weakness of the roots but to the fact that the children have been making fires at the side of it with the result that for nearly two feet from the base the tree is like a shell having been burned so much, and the wonder is that it has stood so long. The “Jamie Gorrie” tree in addition to being an interesting pleasure spot for the village children had the reputation of being the highest fir tree in the wood and the one most easily climbed – the branches spreading from the tree at regular intervals like a ladder, and from this cause there is scarcely a man or child in the village who cannot boast of having climbed it. Visiting it on Monday when the snow was lying deep on the ground and everything had the appearance of winter, we could not but think of the many who will hear of the tree being blown down with regret contrasting strongly with the sentiments of one of our local poets, who wrote recently in the Journal about the Penicuik bairns:

Simmer’s come again my lads,
Hurra! hurra! hurra!
Simmer’s come again my lads,
Hurra! hurra! hurra!
Awa’ wi’ buits or shoon
For freely we maun rin
By muir, or dalce, or linn,
O sae braw! O sae braw!
The ‘Bog’ we’ll hunt wi’ glee,
When we come frae the schule,
An’ roon’ the ‘Gorric Tree’
We’ll see nae dunce nor fuIe;
Or doon the ‘sunny knowe,’
Where the wee primroses grow,
We’ll play the auld row-chow
Frae the tap o’ the hill.

About a year ago an old man visited the village and asked to be directed towards “Jamie Gorrie’s tree.” On being shown, he remarked “I maun see hit ye ken, for its the only freend I can mind o’ an’ its thirty ‘ear since I saw’t an’ played aboot it.” Such no doubt will be the exclamation of many who are now for various reasons unable to see the old relic of the past.

“Jamie Gorrie” after whom the tree was called was a painter to trade, but having sustained an accident his brain became affected and for years he was the character of the village, running messages and doing odd jobs for a living. He was generally in a happy mood, but sometimes when he was threatened with punishment he would take refuge in this tree from his tormentors, and thence the name has originated. When the band was out he always accompanied it – ready to assist in the carrying of the drum. Gardeners Walks and Whupmen Plays were his great days, and he aIso attended all the funerals in the district. He played the whistle and triangle, and was often smart in answering those who tried to raise a laugh out of him.