Dalkeith’s history brought back to life

Edinburgh College students have unveiled illustrative boards they created to bring Dalkeith’s history to life at the town’s arts centre.

The group of eleven local students from Midlothian campus have created boards to illustrate Dalkeith’s past dating back to the 1800s, detailing everything from burning witches at the stake in the town centre and coal mining in Gorebridge to the building of Rosslyn Chapel.

The illustrative boards, which will form part of a historical trail in the town, will decorate unused shop fronts in the high street and the Dalkeith Corn Exchange. With the help of Dalkeith Heritage Regeneration and Dalkeith History Society, the students have been able to get an in-depth understanding of the history and tales of the town by working with local experts.

The students, who are all on The Prince’s Trust Team programme, hope that the illustration boards will regenerate the area and provide the community with an insight into Dalkeith’s fascinating historical past.

As well as delving into the history of the town, the students also organised several fundraisers to buy the materials for their creative project and worked as a team to decide how they would depict the historical tales in their artwork.

Graeme Stewart, Prince’s Trust Team Leader, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the students on the excellent illustrative boards they have created. The boards tell some of the unknown quirky, strange and interesting stories in Dalkeith’s history and they have worked very hard to bring these stories to life.

“Not only have the students provided an educational resource for the local community, but the project has also helped them to grow in confidence through working with different community groups to make this project a success.”

“The group of eleven unemployed young people have really embraced this project as part of their Prince’s Trust course and they have all developed skills for work, college or training in the future. Around one in five young people in Scotland are out of work and The Prince’s Trust offers vital support to  young people to get them on a path towards a positive future.”