Panel stitched by:
The Penicuik Team
Joan Cape
Mary Darling
Deborah Hall
Fiona Hutcheson
Isobel Ritchie
Jan Young
Stitched in:
West Linton, Penicuik, Roslin
The Scotsman newspaper, founded as a weekly by a lawyer, William Ritchie, and a customs official, Charles Maclaren, was based in Edinburgh. Apparently a reaction to ‘the unblushing subservience’ of other papers to the Edinburgh establishment, its motto was ‘impartiality, firmness and independence’. It quickly grew popular in the east of Scotland as the newspaper that would become The Herald, founded in 1783, dominated in Glasgow and the west. When newspaper stamp tax was abolished in 1850, The Scotsman moved to a daily circulation. It has a distinguished history under several notable editors such as Alastair Dunnett, Eric MacKay and Magnus Linklater. The Scotsman’s coverage of the arts and the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe in particular has been crucial in the development of Scotland’s culture. When Allen Wright, the arts editor, instituted the Fringe Firsts Awards for original drama on the Fringe in 1973, it single-handedly stimulated new work in Britain. More recently, the newspaper has come under pressure as, in line with the sector, its circulation has fallen and valued staff have been laid off. Nevertheless, The Scotsman was named Newspaper of the Year in Scotland for 2012.
Panel stitched by:
The Penicuik Team
Joan Cape
Mary Darling
Deborah Hall
Fiona Hutcheson
Isobel Ritchie
Jan Young
Stitched in:
West Linton, Penicuik, Roslin