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The church was extensively refurbished in 1774 and again in 1891 forming the edifice we see today. Only the clock tower and some surrounding masonry remains from the original 1596 church; the outline of the original west gable end can still be seen inside the roof.
There was a major rift in the Church of Scotland and, in 1843, many of the congregation left the church, then known by its original name, Preston Church. The dissidents, led by the incumbent minister William Bruce Cunningham, eventually built their own church, the Free Church of Scotland, later the United Free Church, in West Loan, just a few hundred yards from Preston Kirk. When the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church reunited in 1929, the former United Free Church congregation took the name Grange Church. Happily, the two congregations re-united in 1981 to form Prestongrange Parish Church.
There are many interesting and intriguing grave stones in the kirkyard where a number of former ministers and even soldiers from the Battle of Prestonpans are buried.
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.
Alexander Carlyle MA DD FRSE was a Scottish church leader, and autobiographer. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1770/1.
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.
The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It is also the parish church of Edinburgh Castle, even though the castle is detached from the rest of the parish. The wedding of Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, and former England rugby captain Mike Tindall took place at the church on 30 July 2011. The Queen sometimes attends services in the church when she visits Edinburgh.
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.
The Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Church of Scotland parish church in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland.
Trinity College Kirk was a royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Gueldres in memory of her husband, King James II who had been killed at the siege of Roxburgh Castle that year. Queen Mary was interred in the church, until her coffin was moved to Holyrood Abbey in 1848.
Prestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, UK, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans in the east.
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.
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.
South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home and John Pew, the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly derived the character of Blind Pew in the novel Treasure Island. The church has been repaired, used as a magazine and reconstructed but still looks similar to its appearance on a 1608 seal.
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.
Holyrood Abbey Church was a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was based in a late-Victorian church building on London Road, Abbeyhill, around 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Holyrood Abbey. The church building was opened in December 1900 as Abbeyhill United Free Church. The building is now used by the congregation of Meadowbank Church of Scotland, Edinburgh.
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.
John Davidson (c.1549–1603) was born in Dunfermline, where his parents owned property in houses and lands. He entered St Leonard's College, St Andrews, in 1567, and after graduating, became a regent of the college, pursuing the study of theology. Being introduced to John Knox, he set himself to advance the cause of the Reformation, and one of his earliest services was the production of a play intended to expose the errors of Romanism, which was acted in Knox's presence. In 1573 there appeared from his pen Ane Breif Commendation of Uprightness, a poem in praise of Knox, with accompanying verses on the Reformer's death. Soon after, another poetical tract was issued anonymously, under the title of Ane Dialog, or Mutitait Talking betwixt a Clerk and ane Courteour, concerning foure Parische Kirks till ane Minister. This was a reflection on the Regent Morton, who had been uniting parishes under one minister to secure part of the benefices for himself. The Regent was deeply offended. Printer and poet were put in prison. On his liberation, he lay hid for a time at Kinzeaneleugh, Ayrshire, the residence of his friend Robert Campbell. He then retired to the Continent, where he remained for about three years. In 1577, at the urgent solicitation of the General Assembly, Morton permitted his return, and in 1579 he became minister of Liberton. In June 1581, Morton being under sentence of death was visited by Davidson. Going for a time to London, he became known at the English Court, and from the earnest style of his preaching was called the thunderer. Returning, he did not resume his charge at Liberton, but officiated in various places. and acted as minister of the Second Charge of Holyrood. In 1595 he became minister Prestonpans, and built a church and manse at his own expense. He vigorously resented the proposal that certain of the clergy should sit and vote in Parliament, and words that he then uttered were often repeated : "Busk him, busk him as bonnily as ye can, and bring him in as fairly as ye will, we see him well eneuch, we see the horns of his mitre." He was summoned before King James at Holyrood, and committed to Edinburgh Castle, but released, and allowed to return home, though interdicted from going beyond the bounds of his parish. He died in September 1604.
Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a curious quoad sacra parish church founded in the 18th century, with an unusual history, both due to its enforced relocation caused by the building of Waverley Station and the splitting of the church in the Disruption of 1843.
The King's Hall is a church in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. Constructed as Newington Free Church in 1843, it is now used by Community Church Edinburgh: an independent evangelical congregation.
