On the A701 lies Penicuik (pronounced 'Pennycook despite its spelling), a town in Midlothian, Scotland with a population of around 15,700. Positioned between Edinburgh and Peebles, the settlement was developed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik, becoming a burgh in 1867. Its initial local industry were its popular paper mills, with the last of these shutting down in 2004. The town name, Penicuik, is derived from 'Pen Y Cog', meaning directly, 'Hill of the Cuckoo' in Ancient British. The town does have its international links, and is twinned with the town of L'îsle-sur-la-Sourge in France. The first occasion of the acknowledgment of the town was in 1296. Thomas Rymer's text Foedera speaks about a 'Walter Edgar a person Penicok south of Edenburgh', and is exactly what the town's name progressed from and into today's spelling. Pennycook, another step on the ladder of Penicuik's spelling progression, appears on John Adair's map from 1862. However, in the background of the town itself, full expansion started when the Cowan family arrived around 1770, and brought the business of their paper mill. This brought the necessity for homes for workers, leading to general population increasing to 1,700 by 1800. Penicuik was also used as the site of a prison camp for soldiers from the French Napoleonic wars, however in our present day, it is currently the site of a housing development. However, a monument dated back to 1830 celebrates the 309 detainees who died there throughout the years 1811-1814. For all your house upgrades, make certain to make use of reputable contractors in Penicuik to make certain of quality.