Haddington, East Lothian
See also: Haddington (disambiguation)
Haddington is a burgh (town) in East Lothian, Scotland, approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh. Now the main administrative centre for East Lothian Council, it was one of the first royal burghs, created in the 1130, and the centre of the mid 18th-century Scottish Agricultural Revolution. It is located predominately on the left bank of the River Tyne. Lying on the direct route of English invaders from the south, the town was burned by forces from across the border in 1216, 1244 and 1355. The great siege of Haddington, the longest town siege in British history, lasted for 18 months (1547-49) when an occupying English force sent by Henry VIII was besieged by the Scots and their French allies.
At the centre of the town is the Haddington Town House, originally built in 1748 according to a plan by William Adam and comprising of a council chamber, jail and sheriff court, to which assembly rooms were added in 1788, and a new town clock in 1835. Nearby is the Haddington Corn Exchange (1854) and the County Courthouse (1833). Other notable sites include the Jane Welsh Carlyle House, and Mitchell's Close.
A summer house (1754-55) and a walled garden are all that remain at Amisfield Park, the 18th century estate of the Earl of Wemyss, immediately to the east of the town on the south bank of the Tyne. Amisfield House was demolished in 1928 and the park has been turned into a golf course. Lennoxlove House, a 14th-century tower house, built by the Giffards of Yester and now the seat of the Duke of Hamilton, is 1.5 kilometres south of the town.
Although now a small town with a population of less than 9,000, at one time Haddington was the fourth largest city in Scotland, after Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh.
St Mary's Church
The parish church of St Mary's belongs to the Church of Scotland, but includes an episcopalian chapel called the Lauderdale Aisle. Regarded as one of the three great churches of the Lothians, it is the longest parish church in Scotland and is often used for concerts. It is located next to the massive 12th-century Nungate bridge on a bend of the River Tyne.
Known as the 'Lamp of Lothian', the red sandstone building was started in 1375 (an earlier St Mary's Church had been destroyed by the English in 1356) and consecrated in 1410, although it was not finished until 1487. The church was almost destroyed during the 1548-49 siege of Haddington that followed the Rough Wooing of Henry VIII, and on the advice of John Knox, it was restored “frae the tower to the West door”. Thus the nave became the church and the choir and transepts were left ruined until the whole church was restored in the 1970s. The organ was built in 1990.
A set of 8 bells hung for full circle ringing was installed for the millenium.
Famous people from Haddington
- Alexander II - (1198–1249), King of Scotland from 1214 until 1249.
- John Brown, known as John Brown of Haddington - (1722–1787), theologian and author of The Self-interpreting Bible (known as 'Brown's Bible') and A Dictionary of the Holy Bible. Became minister in Haddington in 1751 and is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's.
- Samuel Morison Brown - (1817-1856), chemist and writer, grandson of John Brown, born in Haddington.
- Finlay Calder (1957- ) - Scottish rugby player born in Haddington.
- Jane Welsh Carlyle - (1801-1866), wife of the writer Thomas Carlyle, daughter of a local doctor. She was buried next to her father in the choir of St Mary's Church, at that time still ruined.
- William George Gillies (1898-1973) - painter born in the High Street. Student and later principal of the Edinburgh College of Art, several of his works are in the Talbot Rice Gallery in the University of Edinburgh.
- John Gray (1646-1717) - preacher, scholar and book collector, was born and died in Haddington. He assembled an important library of early printed books which was moved to the National Library of Scotland in 1961.
- John Knox (1505, 1513 or 1514–1572) - great protestant reformer born (probably in Nungate on the east bank of the River Tyne, opposite St Mary's) and educated in the town.
- John Mair (1467-1550) - Scottish philosopher, friend of Erasmus and teacher of Calvin, Ignatius Loyola, John Knox, and other Scottish Reformers including the protestant martyr Patrick Hamilton and the humanist and Latin stylist George Buchanan. He held many University and government positions.
- Adam Skirving (1719-1803) - song writer, author of the famous Jacobite song Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?, was born in Haddington, farmed at Garleton, and was buried at Athelstaneford.
- Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) - social reformer and author of Self Help (1859), lived in the High Street.
- Willie Wood MBE (1938- ) - bowls player who took part in a record seven Commonwealth Games and won two gold medals was born in Haddington and grew up in nearby Gifford.
Bibliography
Haddington: Royal Burgh - A History and a Guide, The Haddington History Society, published 1997 by Tuckwell Press Ltd., ISBN: 1862320004
External links
Haddington: A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885. http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townhistory278.html
Haddington Community Council - http://www.haddingtoncc.org.uk/