associated with the paper mills, the town became a burgh in 1866. In 1889, a fire at the Mauricewood Colliery resulted in the death of 63 men and boys, with only seven survivors. Its owners, The Schotts Iron Company, closed the pit following the disaster. The Cowan Institute, now known as Penicuik Town Hall, was funded by the Cowan family and designed by Campbell Douglas in 1893. The Penicuik war memorial was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and dates from 1920. The Dalmore paper mill on the North Esk river at Auchendinny closed in 2004. Schools There are five primary schools in Penicuik, Cuiken Primary, Cornbank St James Primary, Sacred Heart Primary (Roman Catholic), Strathesk Primary and Mauricewood Primary. There are also two high schools, Penicuik High School and Beeslack High School (which is soon to move out of Penicuik itself). Climate Penicuik experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The town's somewhat elevated position (180 m O.S.) means it is more susceptible to snowfall than nearby Edinburgh; over 30 days of the year on average reported lying snow between 1951 and 1980, compared to 14 at Edinburgh. Temperature extremes since 1960 range from during July 1983 to in January 1982. The coldest temperature in recent years was during January 2010. Demography Its population at the 2011 census was 15,930 computed according to the 2010 definition of the locality. Radio Crystal FM is the Community Radio Station serving Penicuik & S W Midlothian on 107.4FM. In popular culture Near Penicuik is Glencorse Parish Kirk, which formed part of the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Weir of Hermiston. Notable people Notable people connected with Penicuik include; Jim Aitken, Scotland rugby union captain Tommy Banner, lead singer from The Wurzels Helen Bannerman, writer Joseph Bell FRCSE, surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh Agnes Borrowman, first woman to serve on the Pharmaceutical Society's Board of Examiners. Sir John Clerk, baronet, composer and leading Scottish politician during the period leading up to the 1707 Act of Union Alexander Cowan, papermaker and philanthropist Charles Cowan, papermaker and MP for Edinburgh James Cowan, Liberal Party politician James Cowan, cricketer Sir John Cowan, 1st Baronet of Beeslack, papermaker and chairman of the Midlothian Liberal Association Samuel Rutherford Crockett, novelist Claire Emslie, footballer James Cossar Ewart, FRS, zoologist James Finlayson, industrialist Sir James Hamilton, Aircraft designer who led the