Prestonpans
Encyclopedia
Prestonpans is a small town to the east of Edinburgh
, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian
. It has a population of 7,153 (East Lothian Council Census, 2001). It is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans
, and has a history dating back to the 11th century. The town boasts some impressive examples of historical architecture, such as the Preston Tower
and the doocot and the local Mercat Cross
, which is the only one of its kind in Scotland which remains in its original form and location. The town is also credited for achieving the title of "Scotland's Mural Town" with many wall mural
s reflecting the town's colourful past.
and Holyrood
arrived in the district in 1184 there was already a settlement named 'Aldhammer' on the site of what is now Prestonpans. The monks gave the settlement their own name, Prieststown or Prieston. Because of the salt manufacturing
carried out by the monks using pans
on the sea shore, the town's name would later develop into Salt Prieststown and Salt Preston, and finally Prestonpans.
One of the first post-Reformation churches was built in Prestonpans, in 1596, by the master mason, John Davidson. The church was greatly remodelled in 1774. Ten years after the original building of the new church, Prestonpans became a Parish in its own right, having previously formed part of the Parish of Tranent.
On 31 October 2004 innocence was publicly declared of 81 Scottish women convicted of being witches and executed in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Prestonpans at one time had sixteen breweries but as times have developed, none of those original breweries exist any longer. The oldest brewery in Prestonpans belonged to the Fowler family and was built in 1720. The Fowlers obtained it in 1756 and it was in production until the 1960s. The building was demolished in 1989 to make way for flats. There was a soap works in the town which at one time had an output of 90,000 lb per annum, and also several potteries
and brickworks
.
The town was served, for several hundred years, by the harbour at nearby Prestoungrange, known as "Morison's Haven". Fishing boats sailed from the harbour and herring was the most important catch. The harvesting of oysters was a lucrative industry up to the early 20th century.
. The battle took place on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart
and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart
defeated the army loyal to the Hanoverian
George II
led by Sir John Cope. The victory was a huge morale boost for the Jacobites, and a heavily mythologised
version of the story entered art and legend. A memorial to the Battle of Prestonpans in the form of a modest stonemason mason-built cairn
sits close to the battle site. An earlier (and tellingly, much larger and more impressive) monument to Colonel Gardiner, a Hanoverian who was mortally wounded on the field of battle, was also erected in the 19th century near Bankton House where the Colonel lived. Each year on the anniversary of the battle, a Battlefield Walk is organised by local historians, and in September 2008 the Battle of Prestonpans 1745 Trust organised a symposium on local battlefields. A memorial in the parish church commemorates "John Stuart of Phisgul...barbarously murdered by four Highlanders near the end of the Battle"
, 1921.
There is now no salt or mining industry in the area. The town has developed considerably over the last few years. New housing has been built on greenbelt and there is potential for more affordable housing
in the town. There remains a thriving community spirit. A two-week festival in early summer links Prestonpans with neighbouring Cockenzie and Port Seton, called The Three Harbours Festival.
The town has a a nursery school, an infant school, a primary school and the comprehensive Preston Lodge High School
. Prestonpans railway station
is on the Edinburgh
– North Berwick
line. The local non-league football team Preston Athletic F.C.
plays its home games at the Pennypit Park in the town, as does the local rugby team Preston Lodge RFC
.
Prestonpans also has the popular and famous Royal Musselburgh Golf Club
, the sixth-oldest golf club
in the world (and is still home to The Old Club Cup, the world's oldest golfing trophy still being played for) and the town's cricket team Preston Village Cricket Club.
The Prestonpans Murals Trail has become popular over the last few years. In 2006 it hosted the Global Murals Conference.
In 2006, Prestonpans and the neighbouring towns of Cockenzie, Port Seton and Longniddry
were twinned with the town of Barga
, Tuscany, Italy.
In 2010, the Prestonpans Tapestry
was completed and has been touring Scotland and England.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
. It has a population of 7,153 (East Lothian Council Census, 2001). It is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
, and has a history dating back to the 11th century. The town boasts some impressive examples of historical architecture, such as the Preston Tower
Preston Tower
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres from two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House....
and the doocot and the local Mercat Cross
Mercat cross
A mercat cross is a market cross found in Scottish cities and towns where trade and commerce was a part of economic life. It was originally a place where merchants would gather, and later became the focal point of many town events such as executions, announcements and proclamations...
, which is the only one of its kind in Scotland which remains in its original form and location. The town is also credited for achieving the title of "Scotland's Mural Town" with many wall mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s reflecting the town's colourful past.
History
According to certain stories Prestonpans was originally founded in the 11th century by a traveller named Althamer, who became shipwrecked on the local beach/coastal area. Finding it impossible to get home, the survivors of the wreck decided to remain where they were and founded a settlement named Althamer in honour of their leader. Whether this story is true or not is a matter of opinion, however when the monks of NewbattleNewbattle
Newbattle is a village in Midlothian, in the ancient Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Andrews, about seven miles from Edinburgh. There was an abbey there founded about 1140, being the second of the six Cistercian Monasteries established by King David I of Scotland.-Newbattle Abbey:Newbattle Abbey was...
and Holyrood
Holyrood, Edinburgh
Holyrood is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Lying east of the city centre, at the end of the Royal Mile, Holyrood was once in the separate burgh of Canongate before the expansion of Edinburgh in 1856...
arrived in the district in 1184 there was already a settlement named 'Aldhammer' on the site of what is now Prestonpans. The monks gave the settlement their own name, Prieststown or Prieston. Because of the salt manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
carried out by the monks using pans
PANS
PANS can refer to:*Panin Sekuritas *Parasympathetic Autonomic Nervous System*Procedures for Air Navigation Services...
on the sea shore, the town's name would later develop into Salt Prieststown and Salt Preston, and finally Prestonpans.
One of the first post-Reformation churches was built in Prestonpans, in 1596, by the master mason, John Davidson. The church was greatly remodelled in 1774. Ten years after the original building of the new church, Prestonpans became a Parish in its own right, having previously formed part of the Parish of Tranent.
On 31 October 2004 innocence was publicly declared of 81 Scottish women convicted of being witches and executed in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Industry
Salt panning was a very important industry in the early history of Prestonpans. By the beginning of the 15th century there were ten salt works belonging to the town capable of producing between 800 and 900 bushels of salt per week. However, Prestonpans was not a one industry town, and many other industries flourished in Prestonpans and contributed towards the town's growth. The discovery and mining of coal by the Newbattle monks in the early 13th century was arguably the first instance of coal mining in Britain. The mining of coal in Prestonpans began in the year 1210, and would continue for centuries.Prestonpans at one time had sixteen breweries but as times have developed, none of those original breweries exist any longer. The oldest brewery in Prestonpans belonged to the Fowler family and was built in 1720. The Fowlers obtained it in 1756 and it was in production until the 1960s. The building was demolished in 1989 to make way for flats. There was a soap works in the town which at one time had an output of 90,000 lb per annum, and also several potteries
Potteries
Potteries may refer to:* Pottery, or pottery manufacturing* The Stoke-on-Trent area, known as the Staffordshire Potteries after its once-important ceramics industry...
and brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
.
The town was served, for several hundred years, by the harbour at nearby Prestoungrange, known as "Morison's Haven". Fishing boats sailed from the harbour and herring was the most important catch. The harvesting of oysters was a lucrative industry up to the early 20th century.
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans (also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir) was the first significant conflict in the second Jacobite RisingJacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
. The battle took place on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
defeated the army loyal to the Hanoverian
Hanoverian
The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe:* British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901.* things relating to the Electorate of Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, or Province of Hanover...
George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
led by Sir John Cope. The victory was a huge morale boost for the Jacobites, and a heavily mythologised
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
version of the story entered art and legend. A memorial to the Battle of Prestonpans in the form of a modest stonemason mason-built cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
sits close to the battle site. An earlier (and tellingly, much larger and more impressive) monument to Colonel Gardiner, a Hanoverian who was mortally wounded on the field of battle, was also erected in the 19th century near Bankton House where the Colonel lived. Each year on the anniversary of the battle, a Battlefield Walk is organised by local historians, and in September 2008 the Battle of Prestonpans 1745 Trust organised a symposium on local battlefields. A memorial in the parish church commemorates "John Stuart of Phisgul...barbarously murdered by four Highlanders near the end of the Battle"
Modern Prestonpans
The war memorial stands near the town centre but is slightly obscured by the flanking buildings. It is a fine sculpture of a Scots "Tommy" in bonnet and great coat by William Birnie RhindWilliam Birnie Rhind
William Birnie Rhind RSA was a Scottish sculptor.Rhind was born in Edinburgh as the eldest son of sculptor John Rhind , and the elder brother of J. Massey Rhind...
, 1921.
There is now no salt or mining industry in the area. The town has developed considerably over the last few years. New housing has been built on greenbelt and there is potential for more affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
in the town. There remains a thriving community spirit. A two-week festival in early summer links Prestonpans with neighbouring Cockenzie and Port Seton, called The Three Harbours Festival.
The town has a a nursery school, an infant school, a primary school and the comprehensive Preston Lodge High School
Preston Lodge High School
Preston Lodge High School is a six-year non-denominational school located in the town of Prestonpans. It serves students from Prestonpans, Port Seton, Longniddry and the surrounding areas...
. Prestonpans railway station
Prestonpans railway station
Prestonpans railway station is a railway station serving the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the North Berwick Line 16 km east of Edinburgh Waverley. It serves the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton 1.37 miles away....
is on the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
– North Berwick
North Berwick
The Royal Burgh of North Berwick is a seaside town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the...
line. The local non-league football team Preston Athletic F.C.
Preston Athletic F.C.
Preston Athletic Football Club is a Scottish senior non-league football club based in the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian. They are members of the East of Scotland Football League and currently play in its Premier Division....
plays its home games at the Pennypit Park in the town, as does the local rugby team Preston Lodge RFC
Preston Lodge RFC
Preston Lodge Former Pupil Rugby Football Club are a rugby union side based in Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. Formed in 1929, they currently play in Scottish Hydro National League Division 2...
.
Prestonpans also has the popular and famous Royal Musselburgh Golf Club
Royal Musselburgh Golf Club
The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club is a golf club at Prestongrange House, Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, on the B1361.Between 1774 and 1926, the club was based at Levenhall Links, Musselburgh.-History:...
, the sixth-oldest golf club
Golf club
A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and...
in the world (and is still home to The Old Club Cup, the world's oldest golfing trophy still being played for) and the town's cricket team Preston Village Cricket Club.
The Prestonpans Murals Trail has become popular over the last few years. In 2006 it hosted the Global Murals Conference.
In 2006, Prestonpans and the neighbouring towns of Cockenzie, Port Seton and Longniddry
Longniddry
Longniddry is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, with a population of 2,613 .Longniddry is primarily a dormitory village for commuters to Edinburgh, with good transport links by road and rail to the capital...
were twinned with the town of Barga
Barga
Barga is a medieval town and comune of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10,000 people and is the chief town of the "Media Valle" of the Serchio.-Geography:...
, Tuscany, Italy.
In 2010, the Prestonpans Tapestry
Prestonpans Tapestry
The Prestonpans Tapestry is a large embroidery created - and normally situated in - Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland.Its full title is "The Battle of Prestonpans Tapestry 1754"....
was completed and has been touring Scotland and England.
See also
- :Category:People from Prestonpans
- John Muir WayJohn Muir WayThe John Muir Way is a continuous coastal path in East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is named in honour of the Scottish 19th-century conservationist John Muir, who was born at Dunbar, East Lothian, in 1838 and became a founder of America's national park system...
- List of places in East Lothian
- PrestongrangePrestongrangePrestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, UK, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans in the east.The placename derives from "Preston", meaning "priest's town", and a grange which was worked by the Cistercian monks of Newbattle Abbey.In the 16th century the Morison...
- Prestongrange Parish ChurchPrestongrange Parish ChurchPrestongrange Parish Church is a Church of Scotland kirk situated in the small, former mining town of Prestonpans in East Lothian. The church was built in 1596, one of the first churches to be built in Scotland following the Scottish Reformation in 1560...
- Preston TowerPreston TowerPreston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres from two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House....
External links
- Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum – A local museum offering tours
- Preston Lodge High School – The secondary school for the area
- Profile of Prestonpans at Undiscovered Scotland
- Global Murals Conference Prestoungrange 2006
- Article, The Herald, 29 April 2008, Historic Scotland trying to protect Scotland's battlefields
- "Historic battlefields in Scotland threatened by lack of legal protection". The Times, 29 April 2008.