Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum
The colliery winding gear
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| Established | 28 September 1984 |
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| Location | 8 miles east of Edinburgh |
| Coordinates | 55°57′18″N 2°59′49″W / 55.955°N 2.997°W |
| Type | Industrial archaeology |
| Website | www.prestongrange.org |
Prestongrange Museum is an industrial heritage museum at Prestongrange between Musselburgh and Prestonpans on the B1348 on the East Lothian coast, Scotland. For centuries Prestongrange was a place of intense industrial activity. A harbour, glass works, pottery, colliery and brickworks have all left their marks on the landscape. Cradled by woodland with views out over the Forth the site is now a haven for wildlife where visitors are free to roam and explore monumental relics of Scotland's industrial heritage. Discover giant machines such as the pit head winding gear and a Cornish beam engine, fantastic structures like the powerhouse and a vast brick kiln as well as coal wagons, a steam crane and much more besides. The site is free to visit all year round but it comes alive between April and September when the Visitor Centre, exhibitions, café and other buildings are open. Take a guided tour with one of the knowledgeable members of staff and discover the history of the site – a story of monks, mining and industrial might spanning over 800 years. The museums also runs a programme of unique fun events for all ages. There is lots for kids to do at Prestongrange with activity sheets, outdoor games and toys and an indoor play area for smaller children.
Founded as the original site of the National Mining Museum, its operation reverted to East Lothian Council Museum Service (the current operators) in 1992. Prestongrange Colliery had closed in 1962 and the site began to be cleared. However, work stopped when a new plan was adopted. The Museum was the idea of David Spence, a retired mining engineer. A steering committee was formed in 1968, volunteers worked to clear the site and assemble exhibits, and the National Mining Museum was formally launched at Prestongrange on 28 September 1984.
By the early 1960s the strategy of the National Coal Board meant that all of East Lothian’s and most of Midlothian’s collieries were earmarked for closure. At the same time within the coalfield community there was an awareness that technology and culture was also changing and much that was of significance was in danger of being lost forever.
Prestongrange had three key merits as a museum site. The estate features in the earliest written account of collieries in Scotland, often dated to 1180-1210. The existing colliery included the first deep shaft in Scotland, which Matthias Dunn of Newcastle sank in 1830 to the Great Seam at 420 feet (128 m). The colliery housed the last Cornish beam engine remaining in situ in Scotland.
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