or East Lothian, a county in Scotland, lying between N. Lat. 55° 47' and 56° 5', and W. Long. 2° 25' and 3° 2'. It is bounded on the N. and E. by the Firth of Forth and German Ocean, S. by Berwickshire, and W. by Edinburghshire, or Mid-Lothian. Its boundaries are somewhat irregular, but its extreme length from W. to E. may be about 25 miles, and its extreme breadth about 17. According to the ordnance survey of this county recently completed, its area is as follows:—Land, 173,298 acres; water, 190; links, 149; foreshore, 5,505—total, 179,142 acres, or 280 square miles. Of the "land" portion fully four-fifths are considered to be arable, and even under cultivation. The remaining portion, which is only fit for pasture, is almost exclusively composed of the Lammermoor district, which bounds the county from Soura on the S.W. to Cockburnspath on the N.E. With the exception of this hilly district on the S., the whole county is highly cultivated, as there is no considerable forest, marsh, or heath, to resist the plough. Few counties in Scotland present such a fair and unbroken picture of agricultural wealth and activity.
When viewed from the ridge of the Lammermoors, Haddingtonshire appears to slope gradually to the Firth of Forth and the German Ocean; but, upon a nearer survey the declivity is found to consist of nearly parallel ridges, running from W. to E., and most of them extending nearly the whole length of the county. Towards the termination of these ridges on the E. there is an extensive and very fertile plain, stretching northwards along the sea-coast. In the low country, North Berwick Law, and Traprain Law, near the centre of the county, are very conspicuous objects, from their regular cone-like appearance. The Garlon Hills, a range of moderate height to the north of the town of Haddington, although not picturesque in themselves, command some of the finest views in the county.
The soil of Haddingtonshire is very varied, but clay and loam, nearly in equal proportions, though of various qualities, extend over about two-thirds of the county. A great deal of both descriptions is not naturally very fertile, much of the clay, in particular, being shallow, and lying on a wet bottom. Tracts of moorish soil are also found in some districts, as in the parish of Gladsmuir. Yet, on the whole, the soil of this county is highly favourable for agricultural purposes. What part of it is naturally not good is very susceptible of improvement, and has actually been greatly improved by judicious drainage, and a superior style of agriculture.
The climate of Haddingtonshire is undoubtedly one of the best in Scotland, especially for the production of grain crops. In point of dryness it is much above the average; and from the absence of swamps or morasses, and the extensive agricultural drainage, it is remarkably free from fogs and noxious exhalations. In certain districts where ague was once very common, that disease is now unknown, and the salubrity of the air has greatly increased. The amount of rain that falls in the lower parts of the county, especially around Dunbar, is considerably less than in most other counties of Scotland; and to this cause is ascribed the superior quality of the wheat and other kinds of grain. The harvest in the eastern districts, and along the coast northward, is in general early, and is often ended before the harvest in the higher tracts is well begun. Snow, which sometimes lies for months in the Lammermoors, seldom lies long in the lower grounds, and near the coast disappears for the most part as rapidly as it falls. In the winter and spring months the prevailing winds are from the N. and E.; in summer, when the weather is dry, from the E.; and in autumn from W. to S. and S.E. The N.W. wind brings storms in winter, and from that quarter, as well as from the S.W., come the high gales which are sometimes so injurious to the standing corn in autumn.
The streams in Haddingtonshire are inconsiderable in number and extent. The Tyne, which is the largest, rises in Mid-Lothian, and enters this county on the W. near Ormiston, passes Haddington, and falls into the sea at Tyningham, between Dunbar and North Berwick. There are also the Whitadder, the Dye, the Fasney, the Moneynut, and Bothwell Water, all flowing in a south-easterly direction. The only lake of any importance in this county is Pressmenan, in the parish of Stenton, and that is an artificial one. It is about a mile and a half in length, and is very narrow; but it is surrounded with beautiful woods, and affords excellent fishing.
Coal is found in great abundance and of fair quality in five of the western parishes of this county, namely, Prestontown, Pencaitland, Ormiston, Tranent, and Gladsmuir. It appears from old charters that the monks of Newbattle wrought coal in the parish of Prestontown so early as the first part of the thirteenth century. This is understood to be the first recorded instance of coal being wrought in Scotland. Limestone is also very abundant, and is more equally diffused over the county. Marl is found at Salton and other places, but its use is superseded by the application of lime. Sandstone, or freestone, well adapted for building purposes, is quarried in Garvald, Pencaitland, Tranent, and many other places. Ironstone has been found in the parishes of Humbie, Oldhamstocks, and Tranent; but it is only of late that iron has been manufactured in this county with any success. A furnace for the smelting of iron ore has been recently erected at West Bank, parish of Gladsmuir, and the iron manufactured has proved to be of excellent quality.
In the Lammermoors, near the junction of the Fasney with the Whitadder, granitic rocks appear; but the prevalent rocks over the county are those of a secondary character. Old red sandstone appears on the northern slope of the Lammermoors. Traprain Law, in the centre of the county, is composed, at its base, of a slaty clinkstone, and towards the summit, of a greenstone, slightly granulated with hornblende. North Berwick Law, a conical hill, rising immediately above the town of North Berwick to the height of 612 feet, is another of those bold eminences of the trap order, which break the monotony of the East Lothian landscape. The Bass Rock presents a singular specimen of a mass of trap rock rising up abrupt and perpendicular 350 feet from the surface of the sea. This trap rock, according to the continental geologist M. A. Boué, is a compact clinkstone, and according to Mr J. Nicol, "a fine granular greenstone or clinkstone." Hugh Miller pronounces it to be "of an intermediate hybrid species," partaking of the character both of clinkstone and greenstone. (See *The Bass Rock, its Civic and Ecclesiastical History, Geology, &c.*)
According to the recent trigonometrical survey the heights of the principal eminences in this county are as follows:—Lammerlaw 1732 ft., Lammermuir 1692, Spartleton 1500, Doon Hill 583, Traprain Law 586, Garlon Hill 573. These measurements, some of them materially differing from those given by the ordinary authorities, must be held to be correct.
The British antiquities of Haddingtonshire are neither very numerous nor very important. In various parts of the Lammermoors, stone circles of Druidical origin are found. The remains of hill forts and circular camps are also found at Garvald, Carfrae, Priestlaw, Spott, and other places. Urns composed of clay, and supposed to be of a funeral character, are not unfrequently discovered on the higher grounds. Tall upright single stones are to be seen standing in various places. There is one, for example, in a field near Linton, and another at Broomhouse, near Spott. The battle-field of Dunbar, where Cromwell defeated the Covenanting army, under General Leslie, in 1650; and the battle-field of Prestonpans, where the royal forces were defeated by the Highland army in 1745, are the only spots of historical interest.
Haddingtonshire contains some fine ruins of ancient castles. The castle of Dunbar, perched upon two bold rocks that overhang the sea, is now a complete ruin, but it still forcibly speaks to the eye of the warlike character of former ages. Tantallon Castle, in the parish of North Berwick, is also close upon the sea, and with its immense piles of masonry still standing, undoubtedly forms one of the most magnificent ruins in Scotland. Dirleton Castle, near the beautiful village of that name; Hailes Castle, in the parish of Prestonkirk, on the south bank of the Tyne, famed in the history of Queen Mary; and Innerwick Castle, four miles east of Dunbar, are also interesting ruins.
There are many seats of the nobility and gentry in East Lothian. Of these, the principal are Yester House, the seat of the Marquis of Tweeddale; Gosford House and Amissfield, seats of the Earl of Wemyss; Tynninghame House, the seat of the Earl of Haddington; Ormiston Hall, a seat of the Earl of Hopetoun; Saltoun Hall, the residence of Andrew Fletcher, Esq., a descendant of the celebrated patriot; Archerfield and Bell, seats of Mr and Lady Mary Hamilton-Nisbet; and Whittingham House, the seat of James M. Balfour, Esq.
This county has long enjoyed the benefit of excellent roads and other means of transport; while its small but useful seaports have been of great service to its agriculture. The first Scottish turnpike act was obtained in 1750 for the formation of a road through the county. In an agricultural point of view East Lothian occupies an important position among the other counties of Scotland. There are very few small farms, and, except in the hill districts, the largest seldom exceed 500 imperial acres. On land of a medium quality, a farm of 300 acres is considered to be of an average size. Farms are commonly held on leases of 19 or of 21 years, and these leases are generally of a fair and equitable character. In some instances of late the tenant has the power to kill game on his farm, a privilege which is attended with the best consequences. In the article Agriculture, Appendix A, vol. ii., p. 368, will be found a detailed account of the agricultural condition and prospects of this county.
At various periods attempts have been made to introduce different manufactures into Haddingtonshire, but with no permanent success. At the present time no manufactures of importance are carried on in the county; and various attempts made to introduce the manufacture of cotton, muslin, &c., have proved entirely abortive. The breweries of Prestonpans and Belhaven are still famous; but the once extensive potteries of the former place have now dwindled away. The principal towns are Haddington the county town, Dunbar, North Berwick, Tranent, and Prestonpans. These are described under their respective names.
Haddingtonshire has given birth to not a few eminent men, and is associated with the history of many more. It is well known that John Knox, the renowned Scottish Reformer, was a native of this county, being born, according to some authorities, at Haddington; or, according to others including his distinguished biographer, Dr Mc'Crie, at Gifford, a village four miles to the south of Haddington. Dr Witherspoon and the Rev. Marcus Dods were natives of Gifford. Fletcher of Salton, and Lord Belhaven, who distinguished themselves at the period of the Union, are East Lothian celebrities. George Heriot, the founder of Heriot's Hospital in Edinburgh, was a native of the parish of Gladsmuir. Dunbar, the poet, is said to have been born at Salton in 1465; and Gilbert Burnet, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, was minister of the same parish from 1665 to 1669. Principal Robertson was for several years minister of Gladsmuir, where he wrote his History of Scotland. Blair, the author of The Grave, and John Home, the author of Douglas, were successively ministers of Athelstaneford. Skirving, the painter, was also a native of Athelstaneford. The pious Colonel Gardiner, who fell in the Battle of Prestonpans, 1745, near his own mansion, Bankton House, was buried in Tranent Churchyard. A handsome obelisk has lately been erected to his memory, near the spot where he fell, which is within a few yards of the North British Railway.
The county is divided into twenty-five parishes, which are all ecclesiastically embraced in the presbyteries of Haddington and Dunbar, except Ormiston and Fala, which belong to that of Dalkeith. The poor are supported by assessment under the recent act, and the rate seldom exceeds in any parish a shilling in the pound. In 1853 the expenditure on the poor in the twenty assessed parishes amounted to £8,127; the total expenditure in the whole county was £9,960. In 1854 the total expenditure was £9,999.
The charitable educational foundations in this county are the following:—Schaw's Hospital, in the parish of Prestonpans, founded by James Schaw of Preston, for the education and maintenance of poor boys, and opened in 1789, now admitting 24 boys; Stiel's Hospital, in the parish of Tranent, founded by George Stiell, builder in Edinburgh, which maintains a few boys and girls as boarders, and gives free education to 140 day scholars, the revenue amounting at present to £900 a year; an endowment of 20,000 merks bequeathed by Bishop Burnet to his old parish of Salton, towards the enlargement and support of a library for the use of the minister, also for clothing and educating thirty poor children, and otherwise relieving the necessities of the parochial poor.
The following tables—compiled from the returns lately procured through the agency of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland—will show the present state of the agriculture of Haddingtonshire:
### Acres in Tillage
| Year | Average* | Wheat | Barley | Oats | Beans and Peas | Potatoes | Turnips | |------|----------|-------|--------|------|---------------|----------|---------| | 1853 | 107,269 | 15,339| 12,809 | 16,802| 4,809 | 2,446 | | | 1854 | 98,977 | 16,881| 12,085 | 15,668| 3,956 | 6,442 | 15,342 | | 1855 | 101,528 | 17,472| 10,856 | 16,692| 4,100 | 6,451 | 16,063 |
* This average merely represents the gross number of acres in tillage, or arable, returned by the enumeration.
### Stock of various kinds
| Year | Horses | Milk Cows | Other Cattle | Ewes, Gimmers, and Hoggs | Tops, Weaners, and Wether Lambs | Swine | |------|--------|-----------|--------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------|-------| | 1853 | 4450 | 2377 | 7576 | 36,979 | 29,597 | 5580 | | 1854 | 4171 | 2130 | 5390 | 42,551 | 33,881 | 5702 | | 1855 | 4491 | 2069 | 5508 | † 86,833 | | 4676 |
† Returns differently made in 1855. HAD
Gross Produce.
| Year | Wheat | Barley | Oats | Beans and Peas | Turnips | Potatoes | |------|-------|--------|------|----------------|---------|----------| | 1853 | 50,341 | 67,079 | 94,823 | 16,734 | 203,154 | 23,976 | | 1854 | 67,555 | 70,629 | 94,290 | 13,011 | 228,509 | 33,821 | | 1855 | 61,427 | 55,882 | 95,592 | 15,283 | 245,370 | 43,306 |
Number of Steam, Water, and Horse Engines applied to Agricultural purposes in the county in 1853.
| Engines | Number | Horse-power | |---------|--------|-------------| | Steam-engines | 185 | 1053 | | Water-engines | 81 | 436 | | Horse-engines | 107 | 499 | | Total | 373 | 1988 |
The following are the statistics of religious worship and education in Haddingtonshire, as ascertained by the government census of 1851. Pop. of county, 36,386.
Religious Worship.
| Denominations | Places of Worship | Attendances, March 30, 1851 | |---------------|------------------|---------------------------| | | | Morning | Afternoon | | Established Church | 16 | 7,718 | 4305 | 790 | | U. P. Church | 7 | 3,205 | 1805 | 1729 | | Free Church | 15 | 5,837 | 3370 | 1461 | | Episcopal Church | 1 | ... | 120 | 50 | | Independents | 1 | 300 | 82 | 100 | | Latter Day Saints | 1 | 100 | 44 | 44 | | Total | 41 | 17,160 | 9936 | 4174 |
Education.
| Schools | No. of Schools | Belonging to the Schools | |---------|---------------|-------------------------| | | | Both Sexes | M. | F. | | Public Day Schools | 52 | 4009 | 2264 | 1745 | | Private Day Schools | 18 | 837 | 439 | 398 | | Total | 70 | 4846 | 2703 | 2143 |
Sabbath Schools supported by
| Schools | No. of Schools | Belonging to the Schools | |---------|---------------|-------------------------| | | | Both Sexes | M. | F. | | Established Church | 23 | 1261 | 606 | 655 | | U. P. Church | 5 | 290 | 159 | 131 | | Free Church | 20 | 1139 | 532 | 607 | | Other Bodies | 2 | 74 | 45 | 29 | | Total | 50 | 2764 | 1343 | 1422 |
(Had Somerville's Survey of East Lothian; Hepburn's View of the Agriculture of East Lothian (1794); Beauties of Scotland, vol. i.; General Report of Scotland; Playfair's Description of Scotland, vol. i.; Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. ii.; The Bass Rock; its History, Geology, &c., Edinr. 1848; Miller's Lamp of Lothian, or History of Haddington; Miller's History of Dunbar.)