Dalkeith Museum

Dalkeith Museum Dalkeith Museum aims to create a friendly and stimulating environment for all visitors.

Postcard no. 27 shows Dalkeith Post Office at 40 Buccleuch Street as it was in 1906. It was practically new at the time...
29/05/2026

Postcard no. 27 shows Dalkeith Post Office at 40 Buccleuch Street as it was in 1906. It was practically new at the time this picture was taken - it opened in 1902 - and served the community until 1974 when the Post Office moved to the building now occupied by Dominoes Pizza on Eskbank Road.

Back in 1906 there were four postal deliveries a day between 07:30 and 19:20 and a local letter posted before 17:00 would be delivered the same day. Quite remarkable given today's standards. I remember visiting that Post Office as a young boy but I do not remember what it was like inside. What do you remember?

The little alleyway between the Post Office and the ironmongers is now the entrance to the car park of Midlothian House.

Postcard no. 26 finds us looking down Bonnyrigg Road towards Eskbank Toll. The road on the right-hand side is Jane Place...
22/05/2026

Postcard no. 26 finds us looking down Bonnyrigg Road towards Eskbank Toll. The road on the right-hand side is Jane Place which no longer exists and neither do the buildings on either side of it. The first house on the left-hand side is no. 38 Bonnyrigg Road but it is no longer a shop.

There are so many wonderful details in this picture: An advert for Carr's Malt Bread and another for Fry's Pure Cocoa, the policeman standing proudly at the left-hand end of the group of children, the girl carrying no fewer than three books and it looks like there's a motorcycle - perhaps a Triumph Model H - parked at the entrance to Jane Place (only the rear wheel is visible).

Everyone seems so keen to be in the photograph. Look at the chap above the shop doorway on the right!

The sign on the building on the far side of Jane Place advertises the business of T. K. McLean but, unfortunately, the rest of the sign is too fuzzy to read.

There is no postmark to help date this postcard but the motorcycle, the electric street-lamp and the policeman's flat cap suggest the 1920s.

Join us on Wednesday 27th May at 7.00pm prompt to hear Tom Purdie tell the story of Macrae’s Battalion. Macrae's was the...
19/05/2026

Join us on Wednesday 27th May at 7.00pm prompt to hear Tom Purdie tell the story of Macrae’s Battalion. Macrae's was the 16th Battalion, Royal Scots, predominantly young sportsmen, mainly footballers from Hearts and some from Hibs, who suffered devastating losses at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Tickets are £8 (or £6 for Museum Friends) and include wine and nibbles. Tickets are available from the Museum which is open Tuesday to Thursday 10:30 to 15:30.

Postcard no. 25, like so many others, was not posted so there is no postmark to help us date it. However, "The Dalkeith ...
15/05/2026

Postcard no. 25, like so many others, was not posted so there is no postmark to help us date it. However, "The Dalkeith District Directory and Houshold Almanac" for 1890 tells us that Stephen Potter and Son were house painters and decorators and were based at 27 High Street, William Kemp was a baker located at 29 High Street and George McDougal was a clothier with premises at 31 High Street. So this postcard will be circa 1900.

Does anyone know who ran the shop at 25 High Street back in 1900?

William Kemp's bakery is now occupied by firstmortgage.co.uk and George McDougal's shop by "Dalkeith Home and Hardware". The number on the doorway that was once the entrance to Stephen Potter and Son is now 29 rather than 27 so the High Street was renumbered at some point.

Not much has changed in 120 years! The railings, most likely removed to provide much needed metal for the World War II ...
13/05/2026

Not much has changed in 120 years! The railings, most likely removed to provide much needed metal for the World War II war effort, have been replaced by a hedge and sadly some of the trees seem to have been lost.

St Johns Church was only 35 years old in 1905 and it really stands out. Did you know that King's Park is named after the farmer who originally owned the land and not a regal king?

Postcard no. 24 finds us back in the High Street. The view is similar to postcard no. 20; looking east with Edinburgh Ro...
08/05/2026

Postcard no. 24 finds us back in the High Street. The view is similar to postcard no. 20; looking east with Edinburgh Road on the left (you can just see the radiator grille of a car in the far left of the frame).

Like postcard no. 20, this card was not posted so we have no postmark to help date the picture. From the cars on the road it looks like the late 1950s or early 1960s. I know some of you will be able to date this far more accurately.

The lorry that has pulled in to the left hand side in the middle distance, has a sign that reads "Aerated Waters". Could that be the Bon Accord delivery?

Postcard no. 23 comes from the same series of postcards as no. 22 (which showed St. David's RC) and also dates from the ...
01/05/2026

Postcard no. 23 comes from the same series of postcards as no. 22 (which showed St. David's RC) and also dates from the 1960s. This postcard show Dalkeith High School when it was on Newmills Road. Just like St. David's, Dalkeith High School has been moved to thee Dalkeith Schools Community Campus and housing has been built on the vacated site.

The history of the High School stretches back to the old Grammar School which was founded in the 1500s. In 1914, the school moved to the building that now houses King's Park Primary School and in 1940 a relatively small school was built on the Newmills Road site. The large structure shown here was completed in 1960 and closed in 2003.

The school has had a long history. What do you remember about it?

Is that Baird the Bootmaker in the bottom right corner? Do you remember the "green feet" in the wooden x-ray machine!!...
30/04/2026

Is that Baird the Bootmaker in the bottom right corner? Do you remember the "green feet" in the wooden x-ray machine!! Didn't know then that it might be harmful!

Happy memories of pick 'n' mix at the front of Woollies and records, vinyl of course, at the side.

Oh, the cobbles - maybe we would have less potholes if we had kept them.

Can anyone help us work out where this photo was taken?It was posted, to an address in Bridgend, from Eskbank in June of...
28/04/2026

Can anyone help us work out where this photo was taken?

It was posted, to an address in Bridgend, from Eskbank in June of 1904. The company of Werner, Pfleiderer and Perkins Ltd. made machinery for bakers so this is a bakery (not a pottery as we originally thought) but we have no idea where it is.

Can you or one of your friends help us identify the business?

Postcard No. 22 captures St. David's RC High School on Abbey Road shortly after it was opened in August 1966. There is n...
24/04/2026

Postcard No. 22 captures St. David's RC High School on Abbey Road shortly after it was opened in August 1966. There is no postmark to date the card but the cars standing in the car park all date from the 1960s or earlier.

The school was built on land that originally belonged to Newbattle Abbey. David Lamb's Nursery, also on Abbey ground, stood behind and to the west of the school. Both the school and the nursery have been replaced by houses now. In November 2003 St David's was moved out to the Dalkeith Schools Community Campus on Cousland Road.

What are your memories of St. David's on Abbey Road?

Address

61 Street Andrew St
Dalkeith
EH221BP

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10:30am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 3:30pm
Thursday 10:30am - 3:30pm

Telephone

+441316634683

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