THE rich past of the Musselburgh and Wallyford area will be celebrated during this year’s East Lothian Archaeology & Heritage Fortnight.
Local historian Alister Hadden will give a guided walk round Wallyford this Saturday to explore its hidden history.
From its industries of mining and brickworks to famous footballers and authors, he will lead visitors back in time through the village’s past.
Mr Hadden’s tour will set off from the Wallyford miners memorial stone, just off Salters Road at the St Clements housing estate, at 10am.
The 476th anniversary of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, fought between Scotland and England on land around Musselburgh in 1547, will be marked on Sunday, September 10.
A guided tour over the battlefield trail will start from the Roman Bridge in Musselburgh at 11am, taking the route followed by the Scottish forces in the approach to their fateful encounter with the invading English Royal army.
The walk, organised at the Pinkie Cleugh Battlefield Group, is led by Andrew Coulson and Roger Knox.
It will end at the battle memorial stone off Salter’s Road, Wallyford, in time for the annual commemoration ceremony of the battle, led by the Old Musselburgh Club at 1pm. Dr David H Caldwell, archaeologist and curator, will give an account of the battle.
The same day, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, the history of Pinkie House and Loretto School Chapel will be shared with visitors.
Pinkie House, which dates back to the 14th century, with additions in the 15th and early 17th centuries, has strong links to East Lothian’s rich cultural history.
The famous Painted Gallery (1630) has one of the finest painted ceilings in Scotland, and the King’s Room hosted Prince Charles, later Charles I, when his father James VI went south to become James I on the Union of the Crowns.
Bonnie Prince Charlie also spent the night there after the Battle of Prestonpans.
The chapel was built in 1892 and enlarged and remodelled in 1964. There are memorials to former pupils who fell in the world wars and memorial plaques to many others associated with the school.
There will be the chance to see a film about Musselburgh’s mills in Northesk Parish Church, on Bridge Street, on Thursday, September 14 at 3pm. Entry is free and refreshments will be served after the screening.
The film comes from a research centre at the University of Edinburgh as part of its work with Musselburgh Museum and the John Gray Centre, in Haddington.
It covers the history of Brunton’s Wireworks, Stuart’s Net Mill – one of the largest fishing net manufacturers in the world – and Inveresk Paper Mill.
Mark Mulhern, of the university, said: “It has been a privilege to learn about the industrial history of Musselburgh.
“The stories that folk have shared with us are compelling and will be of great interest to those who live in the toun and nearby.”
He added: “In the film we hear directly from former men and women millworkers who tell of the smells, the dangers and the fun of the many different jobs done by those who worked at these three very different, now long gone, workplaces.”
For more information on events during East Lothian Archaology & Heritage Forthnight, go to www.johngraycentre.org/about/archaeology/archaeology-events/east-lothian-archaeology-heritage-fortnight
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