Preston, Prestonpans

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.

Preston

Preston Lodge
Preston
Preston
Location within Scotland
OS grid referenceNT388739
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPRESTONPANS
Postcode districtEH32
Dialling code01875
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

The name Preston means "priest town", and the monks of Holyrood Abbey and Newbattle Abbey owned land there. The village was noted for St Jerome's Fair, held on the second Thursday of October. The chapmen of the area had formed themselves into a guild and elected their office bearers at the fair.

Two of Preston's most important structures were Preston Tower and Preston mercat cross. The mercat cross is unique in that it is the only such structure still in its original location and form. It has eight compartments, two doorways, six alcoves with semi-circular mouldings of scallop shells. The latter are said to be an allusion to the pilgrim traffic between North Berwick and St Andrews.

Preston Tower belonged to the Hamilton family (also known as the "haughty Hamiltons") who owned ten strongholds including Preston House, Hamilton House, Innerwick Castle and Brodick Castle, Arran.

Other notable buildings on the site of the former village of Preston include Northfield House and Preston Lodge, pictured on the right.

See also
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