East Lothian

Contents

Nearby places

Prestonkirk

"PRESTONKIRK, a parish a little north-east of the centre of Haddingtonshire. It contains the post-office station of Prestonkirk, the post-office village of East Linton, and the villages of New Linton and Old Preston. It is bounded by North Berwick, Whitekirk, Dunbar, Stenton, Whittingham, Morham, Haddington, and Athelstaneford ... Originally, and so early as the 12th century, the parish was called Linton; during some time before the Reformation, it was called indifferently Linton and Haugh; after the Reformation, it was called Prestonhaugh; at a later period it got its present name of Prestonkirk ... Baldred, who flourished in the latter part of the 6th century and the beginning of the 7th, was long the tutelary of the parish, and is said to have dignified it by his residence, and founded its earliest church. Preston, the site of the church, was one of three villages which contended for his body after his decease. His statue long lay in the burying-ground, and was intended to be built into the church-wall, but was broken in pieces by an unromantic mason ... On the farm of Markle stand the ruins of an ancient monastery, considerable in extent, but unrefined in architecture, of whose history little is known." from the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.

Cemeteries

An excellent Gravestone Index for Prestonkirk Parish Church in East Linton has now been produced.

Church History

Photos of the churches are available.

Church Records

The parish church (Church of Scotland) has registers dating from 1658. Old Parish Registers (before 1855) are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and in LDS Family History Centres around the world. Later parish registers (after 1855) are often held in the Scottish Record Office as are any records of non-conformist churches in the area (often unfilmed and unindexed, and only available there).

Civil Registration

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For details of these and other records held at the General Register Office in Edinburgh, see the GRO tutorial.

Gazetteers

Extracts for this parish from the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland are available.

Maps

The Scottish Record Office holds the following as part of its collection of maps and plans:

• 1750: Road plan of Whittingehame, Stenton and East Linton, showing houses, churches, standing stone and plantations. Scale 1:8000. Size 55x77cm. Grid (map) reference NT6174. SRO reference RHP.56/2
• 1792: Estate plan of Beanston. Scale 1:3600. Size 47x32cm. Grid (map) reference NT5476. SRO reference RHP.1036

Population

Here are some figures showing the parish's population through time: