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.
The house was built in 1626 [1] as a replacement for Preston Tower [2] for Sir John Hamilton, Lord Magdalens, who was a Senator of the College of Justice and the brother of the 1st Earl of Haddington. The property was vacated by the Hamiltons in the 1740s, and in the 19th century it was converted into a barracks and later used as a tavern. Around 1880 the Hislop family are recorded as being the owners of the building. Eventually the building fell into dereliction and was about to be demolished when it was sold to The National Trust of Scotland in 1937 and the NTS restored it as a private residence. [3] It is now a Category A Listed Building. [2]
Hamilton House is located in the small town of Prestonpans in East Lothian, 12.6 miles (20.3 km) from Edinburgh. [4] It sits at the corner of West Loan and Preston Road within the part of the town known as Preston near the Preston Tower, Prestonpans Mercat cross and Northfield House. [5]
Hamilton House comprises a two-storey main block with projecting wings at either end. [3] The date 1628 (or 1626) appears in a panel above the former main entrance, [5] with the initials IH and KS representing Sir John Hamilton, Lord Magdalen, and Katherine Sympson, while thee three pediments of the dormers have the Hamilton's coat of arms, their impaled initials and the date 1628, as well as the arms of Katherine Sympson. [3] The exterior is harled and whitewashed, has chamfered stone edges and crow-stepped gables, [2] known in Scots as corbie-stepped. [3] The chimney stacks have stripped quoins. [2] The house has a hexagonal stair tower which stands in the corner of the main block with south wing and which contains the main entrance, above which is the inscription "Praised be the Lord My Strenth and My Redeimer", [1] while at the other end of the main block there is a round conical roofed, corbelled-out turret. The house has a steep roof tiled with stones. When the road outside was widened an outbuilding and a passageway were demolished, reducing the size of the courtyard. The adjacent road is also around 500mm higher than the original dirt road, from when the surface was macadamed in the 19th century. The interior of the building has been completely re-ordered in relation to its original form. [3]
The National Trust for Scotland wanted to sell the building in 2007 [5] but changed their mind to find a "restoring tenant" but in 2017 concerns were raised from the local community about the condition of the building. [6]
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 also known as Haddingtonshire.
The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian; it was the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.
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.
Preston Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian. The club are nicknamed the Panners and play their home matches at Pennypit Park. The team play in dark blue.
Prestonpans is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian. The population as of 2020 is 10,460. It is near the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans. The town, established in the eleventh century, has a variety of important historical architecture, including: Preston Tower and the doocot and the local Mercat Cross, which is the only one of its kind in Scotland that remains in its original form and location. Prestonpans is "Scotland's Mural Town", with many murals depicting local history.
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient Scottish village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres of two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.
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.
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.
Gladsmuir is a village and parish in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the A199 and near Tranent and Prestonpans.
Northfield House is a seventeenth-century historic house at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated very close to Hamilton House and Preston Tower, and one mile east to Prestongrange House and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. It is a Category A listed building.
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.
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.
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.
Pennypit Park is a sports complex located in the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian in Scotland. It consists of two sports fields, one for association football and the other rugby union. It is the home of East of Scotland Football League club Preston Athletic F.C. and rugby union club Preston Lodge RFC. It has a capacity of 1,500 with 313 seats.
The Barony of Preston and Prestonpans is a Scottish feudal barony in East Lothian. Once a title attached to land ownership, Scottish feudal baronies are deemed properties in their own right and can now be transferred independent of the land. For most of its history it was referred to as the Barony of Preston and Prestonpans, but as of 1663 the names were unified into one free barony, the Barony of Preston.
Thomas Hamilton, Lord Priestfield (c.1535–1611) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.
John Hamilton, Lord Magdalens (1561–1632) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.
Alexander Morison, Lord Prestongrange (1579–1631) was a 17th-century Scottish judge, Senator of the College of Justice and Lord President of the Court of Session.