Kingston, East Lothian

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Kingston
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Kingston
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Kingston
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Kingston
Location within Scotland
OS grid reference NT541823
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NORTH BERWICK
Postcode district EH39
Dialling code 01620
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°01′55″N2°44′13″W / 56.032°N 2.737°W / 56.032; -2.737

Kingston is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland.

Contents

Kingston was once known as Kings Seat; historic maps of the area show this. [1] [2]

Archaeology and Prehistory

In 2001, workmen excavating a pipe trench discovered human remains. CFA Archaeology was commissioned by Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) to investigate. The subsequent excavations discovered a range of archaeological features - two prehistoric short-cists and thirty-eight early medieval long-cist burials. The medieval long cist was dated to the 6th-8th centuries AD. A stone with a Maltese cross was found, which may be related to the Knights Hospitaller, who were known to own land in the area in the 15th century AD. [3]

Fenton Tower

Fenton Tower in Kingston is a refurbished 16th century tower house. It retains the original footprint of the square keep, but now encompasses 7000 sq. ft. of living space over several levels. Fenton Tower was used as the location for Archie's castle in the BBC children's programme Balamory . [4] The tower is depicted as being bright pink in the show, although in reality it is a more traditional off-white to Stone Grey colour, with the hue added in post-production.

Fenton Tower was built on the lands of 'Fentoun'. "During the reign of King David I of Scots (1124-1153) the lands of 'Fentoun' along with the lands of Gullane, Archerfield, Dirleton and Fidra island were all held by the Anglo-Norman De-vaux family who later gifted 'Fentoun' to their English kin the De-vauxs of Lanercost Priory. In the mid 12th century the De-vauxs built a 'castri' on the Fidra, a chapel at Gullane, a tower of 'Eilbote' at Archerfield (which must have been a place of some importance since King David signed a charter for the lands of Carberry witnessed at 'El bottle' ) and finally a stone castle at Dirleton itself during the reign of King Alexander II of Scots (1214-1249)" [5]

James VI of Scotland visited several times, as a guest of Sir John Carmichael, who built the castle, which was described in January 1591 as 'a fair house' when Carmichael was having a dispute over the ownership of the site with the Laird of Innerwick. In May 1592 James stayed with his wife Anne of Denmark attended by his English servant Roger Aston. [6]

Fenton Tower is a Category A listed building. [7]

Images

Notable persons

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Berwick</span> Town in East Lothian, Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gullane</span> Village in East Lothian, Scotland

Gullane is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelfth century can still be seen at the western entrance to the village; the church was abandoned after a series of sandstorms made it unusable, and Dirleton Parish Church took its place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirleton</span> Village in East Lothian, Scotland

Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains 7,500 acres (30 km2). Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, Archerfield Estate and the Firth of Forth (north). Gullane parish was joined to Dirleton parish in 1612 by an Act of Parliament because "Golyn is ane decaying toun, and Dirleton is ane thriven place."

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirleton Castle</span> Fortress in Scotland

Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenton Barns, East Fenton and West Fenton</span>

The hamlets of Fenton Barns, East Fenton and West Fenton make up a rural community in East Lothian, Scotland, approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of Edinburgh and close to the settlements of North Berwick, Drem, Dirleton and Gullane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auldhame & Scoughall</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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Yellowcraig, also known as Broad Sands Beach, is a coastal area of forest, beach and grassland in East Lothian, south-east Scotland. Yellowcraig is partly within the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is bordered to the north by the Firth of Forth, to the south by the village of Dirleton and Dirleton Castle, to the east by the North Berwick West Links golf course, and to the west by the Archerfield Estate and Links golf courses.

Archerfield and Archerfield Links are a country house and pair of golf courses in the parish of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. An older golf course, also called Archerfield Links, occupied the area before falling into disuse after World War II.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirleton Kirk</span> Church in Scotland

Dirleton Kirk is a church in the village of Dirleton, in East Lothian, Scotland.

The feudal barony of Dirleton was a feudal barony with its caput baroniae originally at Castle Tarbet, Elbottle Castle and later at Dirleton Castle in East Lothian, Scotland. The Lordship & Barony of Dirleton lay in East Lothian a few miles west of North Berwick, the land comprising the Caput of the Barony is today only a little over 40 acres, including the Island of Lamb, North and South Dogs in the east coast of Scotland. Its ruined castle, two triangular greens and the buildings are grouped in the traditional style of a medieval township. Dirleton Castle was built in the middle of the twelfth century by a branch of the Anglo-Norman family of De Vaux, a family with its origins in Rouen, Normandy, which had settled in Dirleton during the reign of King Malcolm IV (1153‒1165). The original castle was modelled on contemporary French castles, in particular Coucy la Chateaux north of Paris. Dirleton Castle was defended against the invading army of Edward I of England in June 1298, but eventually fell to Anthony Beck, the fighting Bishop of Durham. In 1311 the castle was recaptured by the Scots and Robert the Bruce ordered that it be reduced (ruined) to eliminate the possibility of it being occupied by the English in the future. Dirleton was in the hands of the De Vaux family for about two centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Tarbet</span>

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John I de Vaux, also known as Johannem de Vaus, Baron of Dirleton, was a prominent 12th-century Scottish noble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Smith Richardson</span> Scottish architect, antiquarian and archaeologist

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References

  1. "Lothian and Linlitquo / Joh. et Cornelius Blaeu exc. - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. "Lothian : contains The Shire of Linlithgow or West Lothian. The Shire of Edinburgh or Midlothian. and Haddington or East Lothian / by H. Moll. - Maps of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. "Vol 34 (2009): Two prehistoric short-cists and an early medieval long-cist cemetery with dug graves on Kingston Common, North Berwick, East Lothian | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  4. "A Historic Scottish Castle Becomes a Home". The New York Times . Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  5. "Fenton Tower". www.douglashistory.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (1936), p. 452, 674: David Moysie, Memoirs of the affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 94.
  7. Historic Environment Scotland. "FENTON TOWER (Category A Listed Building) (LB14743)" . Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  8. Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN   0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.