East Saltoun and West Saltoun | |
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Saltoun village shop | |
Location within Scotland | |
OS grid reference | NT467676 |
Civil parish |
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Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | TRANENT |
Postcode district | EH34 |
Dialling code | 01875 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
East Saltoun and West Saltoun are separate villages in East Lothian, Scotland, about 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) south-west of Haddington and 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Edinburgh.
The villages of East Saltoun and West Saltoun, together with a large number of farms and hamlets, form the rural and mainly agricultural parish of Saltoun. The two villages lie in the foothills of the Lammermuirs and are separated from each other by about one mile. To the south the villages are largely bordered by woodland: Petersmuir Wood, Dryden, and Saltoun Big Wood.
In the 12th century David I gave lands in Saltoun to Hugh de Moreville. In 1643 the lands and barony were sold to Andrew Fletcher, Lord Innerpeffer, (grandfather of Andrew Fletcher, the Patriot), and it was the Fletcher family who attempted to make Saltoun a centre of manufacturing in the early 18th century. [1] Most industry was sited in West Saltoun (formerly Milton), on the Birns Water. At the instigation of Andrew Fletcher, James Meikle, a neighbouring millwright, went to Holland to learn the construction of the iron-work of barley mills, and the mill which he erected at Salton after his return not only gave Salton barley a strong hold on the market, but was also for forty years the only mill of its kind in the British Isles. [2]
Another Andrew Fletcher, nephew of the elder Andrew, became Lord Justice Clerk as Lord Milton. By his mother's energy the art of weaving and dressing Holland cloth was introduced into the village. She travelled in Holland with two skilled mechanics who learned the secrets of the craft. Under Lord Milton's patronage, the British Linen Company had bleachfields in West Saltoun in 1746. [2] [3]
In the early 19th century the Fletcher family invested further in the parish by helping to pay for a new church, manse and school in East Saltoun, and commissioning additions to Saltoun Hall (near West Saltoun). [4]
By the mid 19th century most of the parish's industries were failing, and the land was given over to agriculture.
East Saltoun (once known as Kirkton) is the larger of the two villages.
A church dedicated to Saint Michael was first consecrated in 1244, and several church buildings have been used since then. Gilbert Burnet, theologian and Bishop of Salisbury, started his ministry in Saltoun in 1665. The present building dates back to 1805, and is built in the shape of a cross with a Gothic-style tower and steeple. [5]
Local facilities include a garage, shop, village hall, blacksmith, and a school. The school serves East Saltoun and West Saltoun, as well as the wider parish, and as of 2008 the roll was 49. [6]
At one time West Saltoun was larger and had its own school, post office, and shop. Today, West Saltoun is smaller and is made up of just a few houses, with Saltoun Big Wood and the Birns Water nearby.
The B6355 road runs through East Saltoun, connecting it to Gifford in the east, and Pencaitland in the north-west. A former branch railway line that linked East and West Saltoun to Gifford, Haddington, and ultimately Edinburgh was closed to passengers in 1933 and is now a cycle path.
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.
The River Tyne is a river in Scotland. It rises in the Moorfoot Hills in Midlothian near Tynehead to the south of Edinburgh, at the junction of the B6458 and the B6367. It continues approximately 30 miles northeast, and empties into the North Sea near Belhaven.
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun was a Scottish writer and politician, remembered as an advocate for the non-incorporation of Scotland, and an opponent of the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England. Fletcher became an exile in 1683 after being accused of promoting insurrection. He was appointed the cavalry commander of the Monmouth Rebellion, but shortly after landing in England, he killed another leading figure. He again went into exile, this time as a fugitive and with his estates forfeit. He returned with William of Orange, becoming Commissioner of the old Parliament of Scotland.
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about 17 miles east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the sixth or seventh century AD when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia. The town, like the rest of the Lothian region, was ceded by King Edgar of England and became part of Scotland in the tenth century. Haddington received Burgh status, one of the earliest to do so, during the reign of David I (1124–1153), giving it trading rights which encouraged its growth into a market town.
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.
Bolton is a hamlet and the third smallest parish in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Haddington and 20 miles (32 km) east of Edinburgh, and is an entirely agricultural parish, 6 miles (9.7 km) long by about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) wide. The most notable buildings in the hamlet are the Parish Church, an 18th-century dovecote or "doo'cot" and the former Bolton Primary School, which now serves as the village hall.
Gifford 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.
Stenton is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on the east by Spott and on the west by Whittingehame. The name is said to be of Saxon derivation. The village has a number of houses, a school, and a church.
Morham, East Lothian, sometimes spelt Moram, Morum, or Morhame in old records, is the smallest (agricultural) parish in Scotland, sandwiched between five other parishes: Haddington, Garvald, Yester, Whittingehame, and Prestonkirk, in the undulating lower reaches of the Lammermuir Hills.
Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston, a Cavalier, was the first dignity Charles II conferred as King.
Garvald is a village south-east of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies on the Papana Water south of the B6370, east of Gifford. The combined parish of Garvald and Bara, borders Whittingehame to the East, Morham to the North, Yester to the West, and Lauder to the South. It is mainly an agricultural parish. The red freestone once constantly mined in this parish was well known throughout the whole country.
Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton was a notable Scottish judge and Lord Justice Clerk.
Yester Parish Church is a church of the Church of Scotland in the village of Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland. The village forms part of Yester, Bolton and Saltoun parish, and is a linked charge with Humbie Parish Church.
Saltoun Parish Church is a church in East Saltoun, East Lothian, Scotland. It is part of the Church of Scotland, and serves the parish of Yester, Bolton and Saltoun, which includes the villages of Gifford, Bolton, East Saltoun and West Saltoun.
Bolton Parish Church is a church in Bolton, East Lothian, Scotland. It is part of the Church of Scotland and serves the parish of Yester, Bolton and Saltoun.
Saltoun Hall is an historic house standing in extensive lands off the B6355, Pencaitland to East Saltoun road, about 1.5 miles from each village, in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is reached by way of an impressive gateway and is situated at grid reference NT461685.
The Macmerry Branch was a North British Railway built double track branch railway line in East Lothian, Scotland, that ran from a junction west of Inveresk on the East Coast Main Line to Macmerry via four intermediate stations, Smeaton, Crossgatehall Halt, Ormiston, and Winton. Two lines ran off the branch line, one a spur line to Hardengreen Junction on the Waverley Line from Smeaton, and the other a branch line to Gifford from just past Ormiston.
Clan Fletcher is a Scottish clan. The clan is officially recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; however, as the clan does not currently have a chief recognized by the Lord Lyon, it is considered an armigerous clan.