On the A701 lies Penicuik (pronounced 'Pennycook in spite of its spelling), a town in Midlothian, Scotland with a population of around 15,700. Positioned between Edinburgh and Peebles, the settlement was constructed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik, becoming a burgh in 1867. Its original regional industry were its famous paper mills, with the last of these winding up in 2004. The town name, Penicuik, is derived from 'Pen Y Cog', meaning directly, 'Hill of the Cuckoo' in Ancient British. The small town does have its worldwide links, and is twinned with the town of L'îsle-sur-la-Sourge in France. The first instance of the mention of the town was in 1296. Thomas Rymer's text Foedera details a 'Walter Edgar a person Penicok south of Edenburgh', and is exactly what the town's name evolved from and into today's spelling. Pennycook, another step on the ladder of Penicuik's spelling development, 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 industry of their paper mill. This brought the need for houses for employees, triggering 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 current day, it is currently the site of a housing development. Nevertheless, a monolith dated back to 1830 celebrates the 309 prisoners who died there during the years 1811-1814. For all of your home upgrades, make sure to make use of reputable experts in Penicuik to make certain of quality.