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'<ref></ref>{{Use British English|date=September 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2011}} {{infobox UK place |country = Scotland |official_name= Prestonpans |scots_name= |static_image_name= Prestonpans Old Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 637763.jpg |static_image_caption= Prestonpans Old Parish Church |population = 7,153 |population_ref = (2001) |os_grid_reference= NT401745 |coordinates = {{coord|55.9597|-2.961|display=inline,title}} |map_type=Scotland |civil_parish= Prestonpans |unitary_scotland= [[East Lothian Council]] |lieutenancy_scotland= [[East Lothian]] |constituency_westminster= [[East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)|East Lothian]] |constituency_scottish_parliament= [[East Lothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)|East Lothian]] |post_town= Prestonpans |postcode_district = EH32 |postcode_area= EH |dial_code= 01875 }} '''Prestonpans''' is a small fishing town situated to the east of [[Edinburgh]], Scotland, in the unitary council area of [[East Lothian]]. The 2001 UK Census recorded that the town had a population of 7,153, but many more people have moved to the area since many new houses have been built. It is the site of the 1745 [[Battle of Prestonpans]], and has a history dating back to the eleventh 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.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} 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. ==History== [[File:Unicorn on the Preston Cross, Prestonpans.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Royal unicorn on Preston Cross]] According to certain stories Prestonpans was 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 [[Newbattle]] and [[Holyrood, Edinburgh|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, for and at the expense of the new minister, Reverend John Davidson.<ref>Buildings of Scotland: Lothian, by Colin McWilliam</ref> The church was greatly re-modelled 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 the innocence was publicly declared of 81 Scottish women convicted of being [[witch]]es and executed in the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref>[http://forejustice.org/wc/sp/scottish_pardons.html Pardoned Witches]</ref> ===Industry=== Salt panning was a very important industry in the early history of Prestonpans. By the beginning of the fifteenth century there were 10 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 thirteenth century was arguably the first instance of coal mining in Britain. The mining of coal in Prestonpans began in the year 1210, and continued for centuries. Prestonpans at one time had sixteen [[breweries]] however, today there are none. 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 build flats. There was a soap works in the town which at one time had an output of {{Convert|90000|lb|kg}} per annum, and also several [[pottery|potteries]] and [[brickworks]]. The town was served, for several hundred years, by the harbour at nearby [[Prestongrange]], known as [[Morrison's Haven]] or ("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 twentieth century. ===Battle of Prestonpans=== {{main|Battle of Prestonpans}} [[File:Battle of Prestonpans Cairn.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Battle cairn]] [[File:Colonel Gardiner's Monument, Bankton House.jpg|thumb|120px|Colonel Gardiner's Monument]] The Battle of Prestonpans (also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir) was the first significant conflict in the [[second Jacobite Rising]]. 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 [[House of Hanover|Hanover]]ian [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] led by [[John Cope (British Army officer)|Sir John Cope]]. The victory was a huge morale boost for the Jacobites, and a greatly [[mythology|mythologised]] version of the story entered art and legend. A memorial to the Battle of Prestonpans in the form of a modest stonemason-built [[cairn]] sits close to the battle site. An earlier (and tellingly, much larger and more impressive) monument to Colonel James Gardiner, a Hanoverian who was mortally wounded on the field of battle, was also erected in 1853 near Bankton House where the Colonel lived. It was sculpted by [[Alexander Handyside Ritchie]]. 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". ===Notable residents=== *[[Allan Jacobsen (rugby union)|Allan Jacobsen]], rugby union player. *[[Same Shaw]], recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]]. *[[John Fian]], a purported sorcerer executed in 1591. *Scott Clark, ex-Hibernian FC Footballer. *[[Josh Taylor (boxer)|Josh Taylor]], Professional Boxer. *[[Martin Whitfield]] former schoolteacher at Prestonpans Primary School, and the [[Scottish Labour Party|Labour]] Member of Parliament (MP) for [[East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)|East Lothian]] ([[2017 UK general election|2017]]-present). ==Modern Prestonpans== [[File:Prestonpans War Memorial statue.JPG|thumb|180px|War Memorial statue by Birnie Rhind (1921)]] The war memorial stands near the town centre but is slightly obscured by the flanking buildings. It is a fine sculpture of a "Jock" (Scottish soldier) in bonnet and great coat by [[William Birnie Rhind]], 1921. Adjacent to the war memorial is a bronze plaque dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the [[Spanish Civil War]]. 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 an infant school, two primary schools and the [[comprehensive education|comprehensive]] [[Preston Lodge High School]]. [[Prestonpans railway station]] is on the [[Edinburgh]] – [[North Berwick]] line. The local non-league [[association football|football]] team [[Preston Athletic F.C.|Preston Athletic]] 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{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}. 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.<ref>[http://www.battleofprestonpans1745.org/prestonpans/html/barga/ Prestonpans: Battles of the '45]</ref> In 2010, the [[Prestonpans Tapestry]] was completed and has been touring Scotland and England. In October 2011, Prestonpans was awarded [[Fairtrade Town]] status. ==See also== *[[Barony of Preston and Prestonpans]] *[[:Category:People from Prestonpans]] *[[John Muir Way]] *[[List of places in East Lothian]] *[[Prestongrange]] *[[Prestongrange Parish Church]] *[[Preston Tower]] ==References== {{reflist|30em}} * Edinburgh Evening News, 12 August 2006, article by Jim Gilchrist "Designs on their wall" * The Herald, 1 June 2007, "Local festival illuminates Scotland's 'riviera' " by Sarah Unwin Jones * The Scots Magazine, illustrated article on Prestonpans Murals trail *[http://www.prestonpans.com/pdfs/PrestonpansWalks1_5.pdf Leaflet "Happy Walks in Prestonpans"] * [http://battleofprestonpans1745.org/prestonpans/html/news/show_image.asp?imageid=4441&newsid=2174 Prestonpans Historical Society page showing photo of Press cutting about Murals Trail] ==External links== {{commonscat}} *[http://www.prestongrange.org/ Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum] – A local museum offering tours *[http://www.prestonlodge.net/ Preston Lodge High School] – The secondary school for the area *[http://www.prestoungrange.org/prestoungrange_2006/index.html Global Murals Conference Prestoungrange 2006] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080516091646/http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2231750.0.First_skirmishes_in_campaign_to_protect_Scotlands_battlefields.php Article, The Herald, 29 April 2008, Historic Scotland trying to protect Scotland's battlefields] *[http://143.252.148.161/tol/news/article3842875.ece "Historic battlefields in Scotland threatened by lack of legal protection"]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''The Times'', 29 April 2008. {{East Lothian Towns & Villages}} [[Category:Towns in East Lothian]]'