Hugh will talk about the history of papermaking (starting with papyrus) and the development of papermaking in Penicuik’s six mills, explaining why it all happened in a small town like Penicuik.

Hugh was born and brought up in Airdrie, studied pharmacy at Strathclyde University and worked for several pharmaceutical companies (latterly GlaxoSmithKline) in sales and marketing.

He has lived in Penicuik since 1973, retired early in 2004. He has many interests and still active with many of them. Hugh joined Penicuik &
District u3a in 2017 with various roles, including four as ‘chair’. He became a member of Penicuik Community Development Trust (PCDT) in 2020 with a view to putting something back into the Penicuik community. This includes working as a volunteer at the Penicuik Papermaking Heritage
Museum where they enjoy educating and entertaining visitors about papermaking in Penicuik.

Yes, they also make paper, which is sold in the PCDT printing shop next door.