Cousland

Cousland is a village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of Dalkeith and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Ormiston, on a hill between the Rivers Tyne and Esk.

Cousland was a possession of the Sinclair family of Roslin from the late 12th century, and passed to the Ruthvens in the late 15th century. It formerly had its own chapelry, which was annexed to the parish of Cranston about the time of the Reformation. In 1547, during the Rough Wooing, the English army led by Protector Somerset burned the village, around the time of the Battle of Pinkie which was fought nearby. The village was a centre of lime production from the 16th century. The Confederate Lords, opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots, gathered at Cousland in 1567 at the time of the stand-off at Carberry Hill. After the execution of William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, in 1584 for his part in the events of Carberry Hill, Couston passed successively to the Herries, the Hays of Kinfauns, and the Macgills of Oxenfuird, before coming to the Dalrymples, later Earls of Stair, in the 1690s. Cousland Smiddy is a blacksmith's workshop built in the 18th century, which unusually remains in working order, and is a category B listed building.

An archaeological survey, the Big Cousland Dig, was carried out in 2007-2008, and focused on the sites of the castle, the windmill and an 18th-century pottery.

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