The village of Bilston lies on the A701 running between Penicuik and Edinburgh. This was the place where stonemasons would congregate at Bilston Inn whilst building the nearby village of Roslin at the end of the 17th Century.
Part of the Inn (which is now demolished) included one of the earliest Masonic chapels in the area. Rumour has it the bodysnatchers Burke and Hare used to frequent the Inn as well.
On 19th May 1952 - Bilston Glen colliery was inaugurated, production commencing in 1963. It closed in 1988 and a memorial to the miners was erected in Loanhead nearby in 2008.