Newtongrange () is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Known in local dialect as Nitten, or Nitten by the Bing (),[1] [2] it became Scotland's largest mining village in the 1890s, with the sinking of the Lady Victoria Colliery and a shaft over 1600 feet deep. This closed in 1981 but today houses the Scottish Mining Museum, an Anchor Point of ERIH - The European Route of Industrial Heritage.
From its humble beginnings in 1843 with 100 souls, the church in Newtongrange grew to see its roll rise to over 1,000 in the 1950s. On 16 January 2003, the parishes of Newtongrange and Newbattle united to form a new Newbattle parish. The new parish is in fact that which existed before the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843.
Newtongrange is known for its yearly Brass in the Park event, where brass bands play live over three days. The Newtongrange Silver Band became Scottish Brass Band Champions in 2004, and represented Scotland at the European Brass Band Championships in 2005.
They have a junior football team, Newtongrange Star, who play at New Victoria Park in the village. The original Victoria Park was used as a speedway training track in the 1950 and the trainees raced as Newtongrange Rockets. The sport was revived briefly in 1970 and in 1973. The team of 1970 was known as Newtongrange Saints while in 1973 the team were known as Edinburgh Monarchs. Victoria Park's track become the home to stock car racing before its closure and redevelopment for housing.
Newtongrange is home to Newtongrange Primary School. Now at the limits of its capacity, it has been proposed that a new primary school be built, along with several new housing schemes. The most recent addition to Newtongrange's housing stock was planned and constructed by the Mining Museum, and consisted of two streets; Colliery Crescent and Colliery View, both named by school pupil Kerry Morrison.
Newtongrange will soon see the return of the Waverley Line with a new station being built near Murderdean Road, giving rail access to the Borders, Edinburgh Waverley station and eventually Carlisle.
Newtongrange is also home to the Dean Tavern, an example of a Gothenburg pub. The premise of Gothenburg pubs was that they were not to be attractive or welcoming, in order to discourage drinking and the sales of spirits was not to be encouraged. The shareholders of the trust were to receive a maximum return of 5% annually and all other profits were to be used to benefit the local community. The town treasury was to control this income and use it to provide libraries, museums, parks and other community facilities. The local coal companies were often a source of funds to establish these systems in Scotland.[3]
History and geography
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Sport and recreation