52-648: Ormiston is a village in East Lothian , Scotland, near Tranent , Humbie , Pencaitland and Cranston , located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about 276 feet (84 m). The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 by John Cockburn (1685–1758), one of the initiators of the Agricultural Revolution . The word Ormiston is derived from
104-484: A half mythical Anglian settler called Ormr , meaning 'serpent' or 'snake'. 'Ormres' family had possession of the land during the 12th and 13th centuries. Ormiston or 'Ormistoun' is not an uncommon surname, and Ormr also survives in some English placenames such as Ormskirk and Ormesby . The latter part of the name, formerly spelt 'toun', is likely to descend from its Northumbrian Old English and later Scots meaning as 'farmstead' or 'farm and outbuildings' rather than
156-738: A majority of voters in the East Lothian council area opted for Scotland to remain a part of the United Kingdom - with 61.72% casting their ballots for the Union and 38.28% voting for independence. East Lothian is a constituency in the House of Commons , electing one Member of Parliament . It is one of only 4 UK Parliamentary Constituencies in Scotland which matches the boundaries of its Local Authority area. The other examples being Inverclyde , Moray , and Na h-Eileanan an Iar , East Lothian
208-607: A royal unicorn or lion, symbols of the Scottish monarchy, or a carved stone displaying the arms of the royal burgh , or, in the cases of ecclesiastical burghs or burghs of barony , the bishop's or feudal superior 's coat-of-arms. These are often painted. Another finial commonly seen is a stone ball as at Clackmannan and Newton Stewart . The shaft is usually surmounted by a plain or decorated capital . A variety of decorative designs are employed, including foliage , emblems like thistles and roses, armorial shields, and mouldings of
260-593: A saltire representing East Lothian as the birthplace of Scotland's flag. A gold cross signifies the wealth of East Lothian's farmlands and reputation as the granary of Scotland with a lion in the centre representing the Haddington lion along with blue stripes to represent the rivers Esk and Tyne . East Lothian is served by a local paid-for weekly newspapers, the East Lothian Courier . The East Lothian Courier (often locally "The Courier") began as
312-543: A secular purpose as a symbol of authority, and was an indication of a burgh 's relative prosperity. Historically, the term dates from the period before 1707 , when the Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state , but it has been applied loosely to later structures built in the traditional architectural style of crosses or structures fulfilling the function of marking a settlement's focal point. Historical documents often refer simply to "the cross" of whichever town or village
364-457: A work by the poet William Fowler in 1587. Fowler wrote an epitaph for her. James VI came to Ormiston to hunt deer on 22 November 1588, and returned to Biel and Ormiston to hunt in October 1599. The "model village" was laid out in 1736 by the new laird John Cockburn who had inherited the estate from his uncle, who had died without a male heir. William Begg, Robert Burns 's nephew became
416-614: Is a day and boarding school in Musselburgh founded in 1827 and Belhaven Hill School , established in 1923 is a smaller preparatory school in Dunbar also providing boarding. In 2007, Queen Margaret University began its move to a new, purpose-built campus in Musselburgh within East Lothian, providing it with its first university. In November 2017, a county flag competition was launched in East Lothian to register an official flag of East Lothian . Anyone willing to enter this competition
468-924: Is in the East Lothian Scottish Parliament constituency and South Scotland region with the exception of Musselburgh which is in Midlothian North and Musselburgh and the Lothians region. East Lothian Council is based in the historic county town of Haddington, with the council meeting at the Haddington Town House and offices at nearby at John Muir House. The unitary local authority contains six wards, electing 22 councillors. Largest settlements by population: 21,100 11,910 10,460 10,360 10,270 7,840 5,370 3,370 2,810 2,340 In 1894, John Martine published Reminiscences and Notices of Ten Parishes of
520-590: Is mentioned. Today, there are around 126 known examples of extant crosses in Scotland, though the number rises if later imitations are added. The earliest documentary reference occurs in the reign of William the Lion (1165–1214), when it was decreed that "all merchandises sal be presentit at the mercat and mercat croce of burghis". Early town crosses may have continued the tradition of church crosses used to mark consecrated land or sanctuary boundaries, and functioned similarly to early ecclesiastical crosses , from before
572-555: Is one of the few UK Parliamentary Constituencies which fully covers the boundaries of its Council area. The current MP for East Lothian is Kenny MacAskill of the Alba Party, who has represented the constituency since the 2019 general election when he was elected for the SNP. Former UK Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was born on 25 July 1848 at Whittingehame House in what is now the East Lothian constituency. Most of East Lothian
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#1732802260343624-703: Is the only one of the type still existing on its original site. This traditional design has been replicated approximately with added Scots baronial elements in Victorian reconstructions at Edinburgh and Perth . A plainer understructure faintly echoing the design was adopted for Glasgow's cross when a replacement was erected on or near the site of the original in 1921; and simpler versions exist elsewhere, as at Elgin and Selkirk . Most crosses, however, stand on stepped, often octagonal stone bases and are of an average height of between 9 and 13 feet. In some cases, as at Musselburgh (see gallery image) and Kirkcudbright ,
676-428: Is the war memorial at Dalmeny . It provides the village with a customary focal point and gives the impression that it is much older than its 19th-century origin, but is not indicative of a historical market. Taken for granted as a normal part of the street scene, crosses have in the main been poorly documented in the past regarding their dates of erection, relocation and remodelling, and they often suffer from neglect in
728-406: Is unusual for its truly cruciform shape, with three modern steps and a railed enclosure. It is in the care of Historic Scotland . East Lothian East Lothian ( / ˈ l oʊ ð i ə n / ; Scots : Aest Lowden ; Scottish Gaelic : Lodainn an Ear ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland , as well as a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area . The county
780-476: The Firth of Forth . The coast has several headlands and bays, most notably Gosford Bay , Aberlady Bay , Gullane Point , Sandy Hirst , Tyne Mouth , Belhaven Bay , Barns Ness , Chapel Point and Torness Point . There are several small islands off the coast north of North Berwick, the largest of these being Fidra , Lamb , Craigleith and Bass Rock . Only two towns are landlocked, Tranent and Haddington. To
832-578: The North Berwick Line . Rail service operators which travel through and stop at stations in the area include: ScotRail on both lines; and CrossCountry and London North Eastern Railway on the East Coast Main Line. Bus operators in East Lothian are: Lothian Buses and its subsidiary East Coast Buses, Eve Coaches of Dunbar, Prentice of Haddington and Borders Buses . East Coast Buses is the main bus service provider connecting
884-689: The Restoration of the monarchy, Glorious Revolution and Acts of Union , Jacobite forces conflicted with Government forces, with the main conflict taking place as part of the 1715 Rising and 1745 Rising . Under the command of Sir John Cope , the British Army met with the Jacobites under Charles Edward Stuart at the Battle of Prestonpans in the west of the county in September 1745, with
936-427: The distillery shut down. A brewery and one of Scotland's first bleachfields were also built here as well. Ormiston later became a mining village. The Ormiston Coal Company's workings were south of Tranent in East Lothian. The company was one of a number of small concerns working either a single or a few linked, small pits on the East Lothian coalfield. The principal collieries at Ormiston were: Ormiston Hall lay to
988-413: The egg-and-dart type. Five crosses: at Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and Preston (modern Prestonpans ) were supported by a drum-shaped understructure, known as a cross-house, with a platform reached by internal steps or ladder. In the case of Aberdeen 's late 17th-century cross the platform is supported by a series of open semi-circular arcades. The Preston Cross, built in the early 17th century,
1040-508: The 12th and 13th centuries, the Palace of Haddington was one of the seats of the Kings of Scotland . King William the Lion of Scotland used the palace from time to time and it was the birthplace of Alexander II in 1198. The palace and town were burned and pillaged in 1216, by an English army under the command of King John of England . In 1296, the Battle of Dunbar was a decisive victory for
1092-766: The A199 road also travels through East Lothian beginning at Musselburgh and passing through Wallyford, Tranent, Macmerry and Haddington before joining the A1 in West Barns . Some non-primary routes in East Lothian are the A198, A1087, A6093 and A6137 roads. East Lothian is served by eight railway stations: East Linton (opened December 2023), Dunbar and Musselburgh on the East Coast Main Line ; and North Berwick , Drem , Longniddry , Prestonpans and Wallyford on
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#17328022603431144-587: The County Buildings to the county council. In 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , Scotland's county councils were dissolved and a new system of regional and district councils was created. East Lothian District was created within the wider Lothian region . The district comprised the historic county of East Lothian plus the burgh of Musselburgh and the parish of Inveresk (which included Wallyford and Whitecraig ) from
1196-692: The County of Haddington . There are a range of schools in the county, including six state secondaries : Dunbar Grammar School, Knox Academy (formerly the Grammar School) in Haddington, Musselburgh Grammar School , North Berwick High School , Preston Lodge High School in Prestonpans and Ross High School in Tranent . There are two independent schools in the county. Loretto School
1248-657: The English cause, including John Cockburn of Ormiston , Alexander Crichton of Brunstane , and Regent Arran demolished their houses. During the War of the Three Kingdoms , another Battle of Dunbar took place in 1650 between Scottish Covenanter forces and the English Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell . The Parliamentary forces were victorious and able to march on to take Edinburgh. Following
1300-553: The Great War of 1914–1918. A war memorial may incorporate a part of the original cross, as at Renfrew or Bowden , or have been built deliberately in the style of a mercat cross, as at Lauder and Moffat . The war memorials at Abernethy , North Berwick and Portree also closely resemble mercat crosses and are known as such. The last, of course, lies geographically well outside the historic area of Scottish Lowland burghs. Another example of what might be termed an imitation cross
1352-693: The Haddingtonshire Courier in 1859, before changing its name in 1971. It was owned by D&J Croal, based in Haddington, until its purchase by the Dunfermline Press Group in 2004. It is now owned by Newsquest The East Lothian News was first published in 1971, as part of Scottish County Press Group, with editorial offices in Dalkeith and printing at Bonnyrigg (both in Midlothian). The Scottish County Press Group
1404-600: The Jacobite side gaining a significant victory before being defeated at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Haddingtonshire County Council was created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , which established elected county councils across Scotland, taking over most of the functions of the Commissioners of Supply , which had been the main administrative body of the shire since 1667. The county council
1456-510: The building of stone churches, in marking a communal gathering place. They are thought to have been originally pillars of wood, possibly placed on stone bases, changing to stone pillars in later centuries. Some, as at Inverkeithing , incorporate sundials (the pillar of each cross itself acts as a primitive sundial ). The cross was the place around which market stalls would be arranged, and where 'merchants' ( Scots for shopkeepers as well as wholesale traders) would gather to discuss business. It
1508-439: The calling of a general election and succession of a new monarch. The cross was also the communal focal point of public events such as civic ceremonials, official rejoicings, and public shamings and punishments, including executions. Some crosses still incorporate the iron staples to which jougs and branks were once attached. Communal gatherings still take place at crosses, as at Galashiels on "Braw Lads Day" or Peebles at
1560-473: The control of the Scottish monarchy in the 10th century. The earliest reference to the shire of Haddington, or Haddingtonshire, occurred in the 12th century, in two charters issued by King David . The shire covered the eastern part of Lothian. Haddingtonshire was heavily involved in several medieval and early modern conflicts and several fortified castles and buildings such as Dunbar Castle , Tantallon Castle and Dirleton Castle date from this period. In
1612-404: The county of Midlothian. When further reforms in 1996 moved Scotland to a system of 32 unitary local authorities, the modern council area of East Lothian was created. East Lothian is predominantly rural. It has 40 miles (64 km) of coastline where the towns of Musselburgh , Prestonpans , Cockenzie and Port Seton , Longniddry , Gullane , North Berwick and Dunbar lie along the coast of
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1664-550: The forces of Edward I of England against the forces of John Balliol , the Scottish king who was Edward's vassal. Haddingtonshire was also the site of conflict during the war of the Rough Wooing , with many houses and villages burnt by the English in May 1544 after the sacking of Edinburgh , the Scottish defeat at the battle of Pinkie , Dunbar Castle burnt in 1548, and the siege of Haddington . Haddingtonshire lairds supported
1716-641: The meaning 'town'. There was an "Ormiston" in Berwickshire , near Linton, where the legend of the Worm of Linton was related to land ownership by Lord Somerville and Lord Lindsay. The Cockburn family may have brought the name from the Berwickshire "Ormiston" to the East Lothian location in the 14th-century. Ormiston was the home of the poet Elizabeth Douglas (died 1594), wife of Samuel Cockburn of Templehall , who with Mary Beaton contributed sonnets to
1768-462: The now redundant railway route, and the other a narrow bridge over the river Tyne. Using strict guidelines for its appearance, John Cockburn put housing for artisans and cottage industries ( spinning and weaving ) around the original mill hamlet . When he did not achieve the expected return on his investment, he sold it to the Earl of Hopetoun in 1747. The linen trade became a failure, and by 1811
1820-462: The parish schoolmaster at Ormiston. The whole Begg family moved to live with him at Ormiston's schoolhouse. Isabella Begg née Burns also ran a school here. The family later moved to nearby Tranent in 1834 when William resigned his post and emigrated to America. The village consists mainly of a broad Main Street, with a row of mostly two storey houses along each side. It crosses two bridges, one over
1872-465: The pillar is secured within or stands upon a solid stone structure. Some mercat crosses of today are replicas from the Victorian period, as at Dunfermline and Scone , though they often incorporate one or more original elements, particularly the shaft or a section thereof. Some crosses, as at Linlithgow and St Andrews , were replaced with public drinking fountains substituting for older, demolished crosses, and some were adapted as war memorials after
1924-401: The present. Many no longer stand in their original position. Some, such as Forfar 's, and Queensferry 's have disappeared, and some, such as Cupar 's and Banff 's, have been moved to a location outside the burgh but later retrieved and re-erected. Scottish emigrants to countries such as Canada and especially Australia took the idea of the mercat cross with them, and several cities in
1976-584: The rest of Lothian , it formed part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia and later the Kingdom of Northumbria . Popular legend suggests that it was at a battle between the Picts and Angles in the East Lothian village of Athelstaneford in 823 that the flag of Scotland was conceived. From the 10th century, Lothian transferred from the Kingdom of England to the authority of the monarchs of Scotland. It
2028-519: The south are the Lammermuir Hills along the boundary with Berwickshire; it is here that Meikle Says Law , the highest point in the county at 535 metres (1,755 ft), can be found. The River Tyne flows through Haddington and several of East Lothian's villages, reaching the Firth of Forth near Belhaven . The River Esk flows through Inveresk and Musselburgh where it empties at the north of
2080-747: The south of the hall site. It is a rare example of a layering yew-tree and, according to the Forestry Commission , is up to one thousand years old. There are a number of shops in Ormiston. On the Main Street: Elsewhere in the village: There are a number of small businesses operating from units in the Cockburn Halls, formerly the Miners' Welfare building. The 15th-century pre-Reformation Mercat Cross on Main Street
2132-480: The south of the village. It was built for John Cockburn in 1745–48 and was later extended for the Earl of Hopetoun. It was added to on at least three occasions in the next 100 years. The Hall now lies in ruins following a fire during World War II with residential properties built in and around the grounds. The remains of the pre-Reformation St Giles Parish Church can still be seen nearby. The Great Yew of Ormiston grows to
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2184-606: The start of the Beltane Festival. Crosses are often the place to mark the start or end of Common Ridings as at Musselburgh or events such as the Stonehaven fireball ceremony. Despite the name, the typical mercat cross is not usually cruciform , or at least has not been since the iconoclasm of the Scottish Reformation . The cross atop the shaft may have been replaced with a small statue, such as
2236-650: The town into the Firth of Forth. Major bodies of water include Pressmennan Lake , the Whiteadder Reservoir , Hopes Reservoir , Stobshiel Reservoir and Lammerloch Reservoir . The A1 road travels through East Lothian where it meets the Scottish Borders southbound and Edinburgh northbound. The A1 throughout East Lothian is dual carriageway and major junctions include Dunbar, Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh. Starting in Leith ,
2288-524: The towns and villages of East Lothian to Edinburgh. The company has depots in North Berwick and Musselburgh. The population of East Lothian as of 2022 is 112,450. The fastest growing district in East Lothian is the Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry ward which is expected to see its population of just over 20,000 increase to just under 30,000 by 2026. In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum ,
2340-512: The west, Midlothian to the south-west and the Scottish Borders to the south. Its administrative centre and former county town is Haddington while the largest town is Musselburgh . Haddingtonshire has ancient origins and is named in a charter of 1139 as Hadintunschira and in another of 1141 as Hadintunshire . Three of the county's towns were designated as royal burghs : Haddington , Dunbar , and North Berwick . As with
2392-530: Was a cross-point in battles between England and Scotland and later the site of a significant Jacobite victory against Government forces in the Battle of Prestonpans . In the 19th century, the county is mentioned in the Gazetteer for Scotland as chiefly agricultural, with farming, fishing and coal-mining forming significant parts of the local economy. Following the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, Lothian
2444-533: Was acquired by Regional Independent Media in 2000, which was in turn bought by Johnston Press in 2002. The East Lothian News closed in 2015. Mercat Cross A mercat cross is the Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch , a bishop or a baron . It therefore served
2496-551: Was allowed to enter, which resulted in 623 entries to the competition. The end of the entry submission time was the 28th of February 2018. Four final flag designs will be placed in a vote to the residents of East Lothian. In December 2018 the winning design was announced, designed by Archie Martin, a local man from Musselburgh and residing in Gifford who had worked for the council for 23 years. Martin died in July 2018. The flag features
2548-633: Was also the spot where state and civic proclamations would be publicly read by the "bellman" ( town crier ). For example, in 1682 a town guild in Stirling was accorded the privilege of making a proclamation, to be "intimat at the Mercat Croce that no person pretend ignorance." To this day, royal proclamations are still ceremonially read in public at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh , including
2600-657: Was based at County Buildings in Court Street, Haddington, which had been built in 1833 and also served as the county's sheriff court . In April 1921 the county council voted to request a change of the county's name from Haddingtonshire to "East Lothian". The government agreed and brought the change into effect as part of the East Lothian County Buildings Order Confirmation Act 1921, which received royal assent on 8 November 1921. The act also transferred ownership of
2652-447: Was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the historic county was incorporated for local government purposes into Lothian Region as East Lothian District, with some slight alterations of its boundaries. The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 later created East Lothian as one of 32 modern council areas. East Lothian lies south of the Firth of Forth in the eastern central Lowlands of Scotland. It borders Edinburgh to
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#17328022603432704-623: Was populated by Brythonic-speaking Ancient Britons and formed part of the kingdom of the Gododdin , within the Hen Ogledd or Old North. In the 7th century, all of the Gododdin's territory fell to the Angles, with Lothian becoming part of the kingdom of Bernicia . Bernicia united into the Kingdom of Northumbria which itself became part of the early Kingdom of England . Lothian came under
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