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East Saltoun and West Saltoun

East Saltoun and West Saltoun
Saltoun village shop (geograph 3791860).jpg
Saltoun village shop
East Saltoun and West Saltoun is located in East Lothian
East Saltoun and West Saltoun
East Saltoun and West Saltoun
East Saltoun and West Saltoun shown within East Lothian
OS grid reference NT467676
Civil parish
  • Saltoun
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town TRANENT
Postcode district EH34
Dialling code 01875
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
Coordinates: 55°53′56″N 2°51′05″W / 55.8989°N 2.8513°W / 55.8989; -2.8513

East Saltoun and West Saltoun are separate villages in East Lothian, Scotland, about 5 miles (8 kilometres) south-west of Haddington and 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Edinburgh.

The villages of East Saltoun and West Saltoun, together with a large number of farms and hamlets, form the rural and mainly agriculture parish of Saltoun. The two villages lie in the foothills of the Lammermuirs, and are separated from each other by about one mile. To the south the villages are largely bordered by woodland: Petersmuir Wood, Dryden, and Saltoun Big Wood.

In the 12th century David I gifted lands in Saltoun to Hugh de Moreville. In 1643 the lands and barony were sold to Andrew Fletcher (grandfather of Andrew Fletcher, the Patriot), and it was the Fletcher family who attempted to make Saltoun a centre of manufacturing in the early 18th century. Most industry was sited in West Saltoun (formerly Milton), on the Birns Water. The first barley mill in Scotland was established there in 1712, and the British Linen Company had bleachfields in West Saltoun in 1746.

In the early 19th century the Fletcher family invested further in the parish by helping to pay for a new church, manse and school in East Saltoun, and commissioning additions to Saltoun Hall (near West Saltoun).

By the mid 19th century most of the parish's industries were failing, and the land was given over to agriculture.

East Saltoun (once known as Kirkton) is the larger of the two villages.

A church dedicated to Saint Michael was first consecrated in 1244, and several church buildings have been used since then. Gilbert Burnet, theologian and Bishop of Salisbury, started his ministry in Saltoun in 1665. The present building dates back to 1805, and is built in the shape of a cross with a Gothic-style tower and steeple.


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