Misplaced Pages

#733266

39-577: Gifford / ˈ ɡ ɪ f ər d / is a village in the parish of Yester in East Lothian , Scotland. It lies approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Haddington and 25 miles (40 km) east of Edinburgh . It groups around the Colstoun Water (locally called Gifford Water) at the junction of the B6369 and B6355 surrounded by rural farmland. The village of Gifford takes its name from

78-794: 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

117-593: 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

156-416: A short time in the 1950s. The earliest recorded presence of a church in the area is in 1241, the ruins of which lie in the woods beside Yester House, to the south-west of the village centre. A church also once stood at Duncanlaw, a former settlement to the south-east of the main village. The present building (in the centre of the village) was built in 1710. Gifford was the terminus on a branch railway which

195-614: 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

234-924: 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

273-488: Is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland , as well as a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area . The county 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

312-555: 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

351-548: The Firth of Forth in the eastern central Lowlands of Scotland. It borders Edinburgh to 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

390-425: 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

429-578: 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

SECTION 10

#1732798300734

468-689: 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

507-565: The 10th century, Lothian transferred from the Kingdom of England to the authority of the monarchs of Scotland. It 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

546-559: 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

585-593: The 13th-century Sir Hugo de Giffard of Yester , whose ancient Scoto-Norman family possessed the baronies of Yester, a name that derives from the Cambro-British word Ystrad (modern Welsh: Vale), Morham , and Duncanlaw in Haddingtonshire , and Tayling and Poldame in the counties of Perthshire and Forfar . The first Hugo de Giffard's grandson, Hugh de Giffard, was a magician who built Yester Castle ( 1 ⁄ 2 mile or 800 m south-east of

624-766: 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

663-587: 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

702-692: 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

741-657: 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

780-693: 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

819-600: 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

SECTION 20

#1732798300734

858-540: The area. Yester Primary was expanded to accommodate children from the small schools in Bolton , Morham , Garvald and Longyester, which were all closed between 1968 and 1971. The school roll in recent years has been around 150 pupils, plus up to 40 children in the attached nursery. Secondary education is provided at Knox Academy , in Haddington. A large park (known as the Bleachfield , from its historic use) lies near

897-586: The centre of the village, and the East Lothian Core Paths network has been expanded to improve access to the surrounding countryside. The village has two golf courses. Gifford Golf Club is on the western edge of the village, while Castle Park Golf Club is to the south. The Gifford Cup is an annual golf event, which is held in alternate years between the two courses. In 2017 the local Gifford community bought 55 acres (22 ha) of woodland, including which comprises Fawn Wood, Speedy Wood, located to

936-404: 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

975-577: The county's towns were designated as royal burghs : Haddington , Dunbar , and North Berwick . As with 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

1014-580: The early Kingdom of England . Lothian came under 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

1053-550: 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

1092-521: The line as far as East Saltoun until the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. The village has a school, church, several shops, two traditional hotels and a garage. A bus service, operated by Prentice Coaches, connects the village to Haddington and Pencaitland . Like the church, the school takes the name of the parish, as Yester Primary School. The current school building was built in 1968, when East Lothian County Council reorganised schooling arrangements in

1131-707: The local economy. Following the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, Lothian 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

1170-551: The north west of the village with financial support from the Scottish Land Fund . It is now called Gifford Community Woodland, and is managed by the charity Gifford Community Land Company with the vision of a restored native woodland supporting broad biodiversity which is an asset to the local community for leisure, health and learning. [1] East Lothian East Lothian ( / ˈ l oʊ ð i ə n / ; Scots : Aest Lowden ; Scottish Gaelic : Lodainn an Ear )

1209-620: The present-day Yester House ), the ruins and an underground chamber (the 'Goblin Ha') of which can be seen in Yester Wood. The same Hobgoblin Hall featured in the poem " Marmion " by Walter Scott . The Mercat Cross was built in 1780 and is still standing in the centre of the village. Gifford Town Hall started life as an early 18th century private house which was later extended and then partially rebuilt. The ITV television series Adam Smith

Gifford, East Lothian - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-519: 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

1287-650: 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 ,

1326-524: 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 ,

1365-549: 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. Scottish Land Fund The SLF was capitalized by the UK Lottery -founded New Opportunities Fund . The initial fund was 10,000,000 GBP and this was later increased to 15,000,000 GBP. By June 2005, the SLF had assisted roughly 200 communities. This Scotland -related article

1404-551: 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

1443-657: 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

1482-451: Was filmed in and around Gifford in the early 1970s. The initial chief industry in the town was the paper mill, which was once the source of the Bank of Scotland 's bank notes. However, this mill closed in the late 18th century and since then the village has largely been residential and supported local farming communities, although a pottery, known as Castle Wynd Pottery, operated at Gifford for

1521-688: Was originally intended to extend to Garvald and was built by the Gifford and Garvald Light Railway Company . The company seal, which features the Mercat Cross, is in the Glasgow Museum of Transport. The line was operated by the North British Railway and then the London and North Eastern Railway . The section of line to Gifford was closed in 1947, following the loss of a bridge washed away by flooding. British Railways operated

#733266