THIS strange figure, perhaps a representation of a faery or elf, was a resident of Prestonpans for nearly 400 years.

He was painted in 1581 by an unknown artist, on a ceiling in Prestongrange House, which was then the home to Mark Ker, commendator of Newbattle.

The figure is just a small part of the ceiling’s art, which includes many popular motifs from that time, but also some unique images.

But as fashions changed, the ceiling was covered up and lost to memory.

Then in 1962, it was discovered during interior alterations being made to adapt the building for use as the clubhouse of the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club, after the building had been acquired by the Coal Welfare organisation.

And so, after many years, this ‘Pans ‘faery elf’, along with the other characters on the ceiling, saw the light of day once more! What a fantastic discovery it was, a superb example of a Scottish Renaissance painted ceiling, a real treasure.

The figure was copied from a French picture book published in 1565. The picture book was full of grotesque, fantastical and weird characters which were all supposed to have come from the dreams of a French giant called Pantagruel, who was the main character in a series of 16th-century novels by French writer and author François Rabelais.

The story of Pantagruel in the novels is bizarre, rude, funny, irreligious, crude, often explicit and full of bodily functions, but also with social and political comment delivered in a kind of crude, Monty Python-esque humour.

The novels are difficult to read but the picture book published after the novels was very popular. The unusual characters in the picture book all seem to have some meaning, but most are difficult to interpret.

Some seem to be satiric, poking fun at clerical authority and the hypocrisy of over-powerful rulers, just as Rabelais’s writing did.

Others are so surreal it’s difficult to immediately find their meaning. No wonder they inspired later artists such as Salvador Dali.

These days, you can find the images online. If you’re interested, just search for ‘Les songes drolatiques de Pantagruel’.

You will see all the strange characters, including the original of the ‘faery elf’ reproduced on the ceiling in Prestongrange House.

But if you want to go see him, there’s no point in heading to the clubhouse of the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club because the ceiling is no longer there.

Soon after its discovery, it was decided that the ceiling should be removed.

Why did they do that? Well, there is a reason we have put a bar across the nether regions of the faery elf-like figure, for otherwise the image would be deemed too risqué for a family newspaper! And he is not the only character from Pantagruel’s dreams painted on the ceiling to be likewise potentially offensive.

The room in which the ceiling was discovered was going to be converted into a public bar, and many considered such images would be inappropriate.

But there was another, more practical issue, which related to the potential damage of the ceiling itself. The room would have been filled with cigarette smoke and moisture, creating the risk of staining and mould on this historic treasure.

Whatever the main reason was, it was decided to remove the entire ceiling (or most of it) and install it elsewhere. Its new home was Merchiston Tower, a 15th-century L-shaped tower house in Edinburgh, which was being altered at the same time.

Merchiston Tower has an unusual setting, surrounded and connected to the modern Edinburgh Napier University buildings.

And it just so happened that a few weeks ago I was sitting in the reception area of the university waiting to meet a friend who is helping me with a research project.

The modern corridor oddly goes through part of the old tower, and a door to the tower’s interior was just in front of me.

I knew that the ceiling was in there somewhere, and I’d never seen it, only online images. It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.

“Any chance I could see the ceiling before we have our meeting?” was the first question I asked. And so, with a feeling of expectation, we clambered up the old stairway to the chamber where the ceiling was installed.

“Wow,” was my first impression. It was larger and more impressive than I’d expected, and there were so many images it was difficult to take them all in.

Our necks soon ached looking up, so we lay on our backs on the big board table to view the ceiling. I soon found the rude ‘faery elf’. But he is just a small part of this magnificent and historic work of art.

I didn’t have much time to admire the ceiling or understand what all the paintings depicted. There even seemed to be a reference to “witchcraft”.

There’s so much to ponder and it seemed sad that, after years of being hidden, then discovered, it’s now tucked away in a little-used chamber at an Edinburgh university, in exile and disconnected from its historical home.

The renowned East Lothian-based artist Andrew Crummy told me: “I believe it is Prestonpans’ Elgin Marbles and should come home.”

While the practicalities and cost of this may be an issue, on principle I wholeheartedly agree with him. But failing that, you can, with permission, visit the ceiling at Merchiston Tower and, if you are able to climb the stairs to the room, you will be able to lie on the board table to view the ceiling.

And let’s not forget, Andrew was the artist who created a contemporary and more family-friendly version of the ceiling in the Gothenburg Tavern in the ‘Pans 20 years ago.

It took him three months in the cold with no heating, but he painted new images around his interpretation of the originals, as well as including contemporary characters.

So, if you ever pop into that wonderful pub, look up before you order your pint – but don’t lie on the tables!