| Bankton House | |
|---|---|
 North front of Bankton House | |
| Coordinates | 55°57′09″N2°58′13″W / 55.9525°N 2.970278°W Coordinates: 55°57′09″N2°58′13″W / 55.9525°N 2.970278°W |
Listed Building – Category B | |
| Designated | 18 December 1879 |
| Reference no. | LB17546 |
  Location within East Lothian | |
Bankton House is a late 17th-century house situated south of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is located between the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line railway at grid reference NT394736 .
In the 12th century, the monks of Newbattle Abbey were granted lands at Prestongrange, to the west of Prestonpans, by Robert de Quincy. [1] Their main purpose at Prestongrange, apart from prayers and solace, was the panning of salt on the southern shores of the Firth of Forth. To heat the salt pans they used wood at first, but then found a plentiful supply of fuel in the rich coalfields of East Lothian. [2]
The monks used specific routes between Newbattle and the mother house at Melrose Abbey as well as a route between Prestongrange and Newbattle which would pass the Abbot's dwellings at Inveresk. Those roads became known as the Salter's Roads. There appears to be clear evidence that another route led past what is now Bankton, and on that route the monks' procession would stop. [3] At the site of the stop an establishment was erected which became known as "Holy Stop", later known as Oliestob. [4] Following the Scottish Reformation in 1560 when the lands of Bankton passed to Mark Kerr, Commendator of Newbattle. [5]
Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston, writing as early as 1687, relates that his grandfather, Robert, 1st Earl of Winton, provided the lands of "Hollistobe, vulgo Olivestob" to Alexander's uncle, Sir Thomas Seton, the earl's fourth son. [6] The 1st Earl of Winton died in 1603, [7] and therefore the Setons must have owned Olivestob before 1603.
Sir John Hamilton, a descendant of the Hamiltons of Boreland, bought Olivestob from Sir John Seton in 1624 and, on his death, left the house to his son William. In 1674, Captain Thomas Hamilton, younger brother of William, bought the estates. Later that year Thomas married Grizell Hamilton of Westport. Grizell's grandfather owned the nearby estate at Preston and was the brother of Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington. Captain Hamilton was previously in service in Sweden but on his return to Edinburgh as a merchant was promoted to Colonel in the Edinburgh Regiment. Colonel Hamilton's son James studied law at Leiden in Holland and was admitted as an advocate in 1708. He was later appointed Sheriff of Haddington by Queen Anne, a position he held until 1715.
James Hamilton suffered serious debt problems and was forced to sell the estate in 1733 to Colonel James Gardiner, a distinguished army officer. [8] Some confusion arises when the name was changed to Bankton but, according to Doddridge, Colonel Gardiner called his new home Bankton since he had received several letters from the officer addressed as Bankton. [9]
Colonel Gardiner was mortally wounded at the Battle of Prestonpans on 21 September 1745, within sight of his own home. He was leading a rear guard action of British troops against the Highland rebels of Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) when he was cut down. He died later that day at the manse of Tranent Parish Church less than a mile away. [10]
Following the death of Colonel Gardiner, the house was purchased by Andrew McDouall, an eminent Edinburgh advocate. Ten years later, in 1755, McDouall was elevated to the bench of the High Courts of Scotland, and assumed the name of Lord Bankton. On McDouall's death, he bequeathed money for the poor of Prestonpans. The house remained in the McDouall family into the 20th century, and a farm was administered from the house by tenants. A colliery was sunk just to the west of the house.
In 1852, fire destroyed Bankton House. [11] The house was restored, only to meet the same fate in 1966. It was a category A listed building before the 1966 fire and, in 1971, was described as a "non impressive ruin". [12]
Between 1988 and 1995, the house was given a new lease of life when the Lothian Building Preservation Trust undertook to re-build the ruins and renew the house. The initiative was funded by grants from Historic Scotland, East Lothian Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. The house is now divided into separate apartments. The two pavilions still stand at either side of the garden. The west pavilion, a former doocot (dovecot), now contains an exhibition on the restoration, and a history of the house. [4] Bankton House and Colonel Gardiner's Monument within the grounds are both category B listed buildings. [13] [14]
East Lothian 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.
Cockenzie and Port Seton is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was built by George Seton, 11th Lord Seton between 1655 and 1665.
Tranent is a town in East Lothian, in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the parish splitting the parish from its associated villages and hamlets namely Meadowmill and the port of the parish Cockenzie. The original main post road ran straight through the town until the new A1 was built. Built on a gentle slope, about 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level it is one of the oldest towns in East Lothian. The population of the town is approximately 12,140, an increase of over 4,000 since 2001. Tranent was formerly a major mining town, but now serves as a commuter town for Edinburgh.
Pencaitland is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, about 12 miles south-east of Edinburgh, 5 mi (8 km) south-west of Haddington, and 1 mi (2 km) east of Ormiston.
Colonel James Gardiner was a Scottish soldier who fought in the British Army, including during the 1745 Jacobite rising, in which he was killed at the Battle of Prestonpans.
Prestonpans is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of 2020 is 10,460. It is near the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans. Prestonpans is "Scotland's Mural Town", with many murals depicting local history.
George Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton was a notable Royalist and Cavalier, the second son of Robert Seton, 1st Earl of Winton and 6th Lord Seton, by his spouse Margaret, daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton.
The Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway was an early waggonway, possibly the first in Scotland, opened in 1722. It was 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) miles long and connected coal pits at Tranent with the salt pans at Cockenzie and harbour at Port Seton in East Lothian, Scotland. The track was wooden, and wagons were drawn by horses. The Battle of Prestonpans in 1745 was fought across the line.
Preston was a village on the East Lothian coast of Scotland, and is now a small part of the centre of Prestonpans. It is to the east of Prestongrange, and the southwest of Cockenzie and Port Seton.
Hamilton House, also known as Magdalen's House, is a 17th-century "Laird's House" in the town of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. It is an exemplar of this type of architecture and has retained its crow-stepped gables and corner towers. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a Category A Listed Building.
Prestongrange Museum is an industrial heritage museum at Prestongrange between Musselburgh and Prestonpans on the B1348 on the East Lothian coast, Scotland. Founded as the original site of the National Mining Museum, its operation reverted to East Lothian Council Museum Service in 1992.
Prestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans to the east.
Prestongrange House is a historic house at Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated near to two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.
The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club is a golf club at Prestongrange House, Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, on the B1361.
Morrison's Haven is a harbour at Prestongrange, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, on the B1348, close to Levenhall Links, Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum, Prestonpans, and Prestongrange House.
Prestongrange 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. In 1606, Prestonpans was created a parish in its own right following centuries of being part of the parish of Tranent.
Winton Castle is a historic building set in a large estate between Pencaitland and Tranent in East Lothian, Scotland. The castle is situated off the B6355 road approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Pencaitland at grid reference NT437694.
Ross High School is a large secondary school in Tranent, East Lothian. As of April 2021, the school roll was 1,259 (2021) making it the largest secondary school in East Lothian by pupil roll. The school was founded in 1954 and named after George Ross, who was convener of the local council at the time. The current head teacher is Paul Reynolds.
Andrew McDowall, Lord Bankton (1685–1760) was a Scottish law lord and Senator of the College of Justice.