What is recorded here
The French Prisoners' Monument at Valleyfield marks the burial place of 309 prisoners who died in Midlothian during the wars with Napoleon and was raised by local people in 1830.
Why it was made
People of Penicuik wanted the French prisoners buried near Valleyfield Mills to have a visible and dignified marker. Its inscription says that all people are brothers even when war has made them enemies.
People and events
The dead were prisoners held locally between March 1811 and July 1814. Alexander Cowan, owner of the paper mills, supported the memorial, and architect Thomas Hamilton shaped the stone design.
How it worked
A large stone chest on a sweeping base resembles a tomb without claiming to contain every burial. English and Latin words explain who died and why neighbours chose to remember them.
What remains
The 1830 monument now stands as the centrepiece of housing built after Valleyfield paper mill closed. It was repaired and formally dedicated again in July 2002.
Why it mattered
It is an unusually early public memorial to enemy prisoners and turns a place of confinement and death into a direct statement of shared humanity.
Sources for this account
Sources checked 16 August 2026.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n440176004
Places near here
Photo credits
- Mike Pennington, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Maker not stated on source page, en.wikipedia.org
- Maker not stated on source page, www.dreamstime.com
- Leslie Barrie, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Maker not stated on source page, www.tripadvisor.ie
- Jim Barton, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- M J Richardson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Maker not stated on source page, www.pinterest.com
- Morley Sewell, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Richard Webb, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Penicuik, Valleyfield, French Prisoners' MonumentCommemorative Monument (20th Century), War Memorial (19th Century) (1830) · 1 yd
Penicuik, St Kentigern's Church, Churchyard, Clerks of Penicuik MausoleumMausoleum (17th Century) · 72 yd
Mapped graveyardGraveyard · 82 ydPenicuik, St Kentigern's Church and ChurchyardBurial Ground (post Medieval), Church (17th Century), Churchyard (post Medieval) · 91 yd
Penicuik, High Street, St Mungo's ChurchChurch (18th Century) (1771) · 110 yd
Penicuik, High Street, St Mungo's Church, Hearse HouseHearse House (19th Century) · 115 yd
Penicuik, Kirkhill Way, CemeteryCemetery (19th Century) · 343 yd
Penicuik, Kirkhill RoadNo Class (event) (21st Century) · 447 yd
Uttershill CastleCastle · 560 yd
Penicuik, Castle Brae, Uttershill CastleTower House (medieval) · 560 yd
Angle ParkPark · 749 yd
Serpentine WoodWood · 1338 ydMore memorials and graveyards in Midlothian · All of Midlothian
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