Preston, Salt Preston, Saltpreston
Prestonpans is a small parish on the west coast of Haddingtonshire. It is bounded by Edinburghshire, the Firth of Forth, and the parish of Tranent. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Aldhammer, Cuttle, Dolphinston or Dolphingston, Drummore, Preston, Prestongrange, Prestonpans, Priestown
Drumore, Prestongrange
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
Once a vicarge belonging to the Abbey of Holyrood; the church was burnt down during Hertford's invasion of 1544. [See: The Burning of Edinburgh on Wikipedia] The lands and barony of Preston, and the Pans which had been annexed to the vicarage of Tranent, were dissolved therefrom, and erected into a distinct vicarage by James VI, 27 December 1597. Erected again into a parish by Parliament, 11 July 1606.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1596-1854 | Prestonpans | 718 | OPR |
| 1855-1930 | Prestonpans | 718 | RD |
| 1831-1967 | Prestonpans and Cockenzie | 718 | RD |
| 1968-1971 | Prestonpans | 718 | RD |
| 1972-2003 | Prestonpans | 720 | RD |
| 2004-2006 | Prestonpans, East Lothian | 720 | RD |
| 2007-2009 | East Lothian, Prestonpans | 720 | RD |
| 2026 | East Lothian Council; Prestonpans Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Brown, Cunningham, Fraser, Gordon, Hunter, Ritchie, Robertson, Smith, Stewart, Thomson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr John Trotter, Minister.
"From accurate lists taken this year (1792), the present number of souls is 2028. There are in the town of Prestonpans 384 families, 687 males, 805 females, 1492 total. In Cuttle, 89 families, 126 males, 165 females, 291 total. In Preston, including Northfield and Schaw's Hospital, 23 families, 65 males, 49 females, 114 total. In Dolphinston and Dolphinston Mains, 13 families, 32 males, 28 females, 60 total. In Prestongrange, Drummore, and the rest of the parish, 11 families, 26 males, 45 females, 71 total. Total in the parish 520 families, 936 males, 1092 females, 2028 total. There are 304 males and 289 females under 10 years of age. The great body of the people adhere to the established church. About a twentieth part of the whole number are Seceders, of whom nearly two-thirds are of the Burgher persuasion.
There are 19 officers of the customs, 2 officers of the excise, 26 farmers, 5 brewers, 9 employed at a distillery in a neighbouring parish, 32 licensed to sell spirits and ale, 14 salters and salt agents, 23 shopkeepers, 18 gardeners, 2 barbers. Including journeymen and apprentices, there are 11 smiths, 16 masons, 22 carpenters, 13 weavers, 19 shoemakers ,13 tailors, 3 watchmakers, 4 rope-makers, 1 candle-maker, 10 bakers, 2 coopers, 3 slaters, 2 midwives, 8 washerwomen, and 4 carriers. There are 9 male and 73 female domestic servants, 24 male and 5 female farm servants, 19 day-labourers, 3 coal-drivers, 20 seamen, 23 fishermen, 252 employed in the potteries, and their families, 188 employed in the vitriol works and their families, 94 employed in the regular fishery with their families, 47 employed in the salt-pans and their families, and 33 employed in the brick and tile works, with their families. There are 28 persons who served in the navy, in the last and former wars, and 20 who served in the army.
A manufacture of stoneware is carried on a little to the west of the church. It commenced about 40 years ago, and employs about 40 men, and upwards of 30 boys. The boys are taken at 8 years of age, and continue till they are 14 or 15, when they are either bound as apprentices, or go to other occupations. At Morison's Haven there is another manufacture of the same kind, where about half the number of men and boys are employed. There is another tile-work by the seaside, where three men are employed. A manufacture of oil of vitriol, aquafortis, and spirit of salt is carried on here; upwards of 50 men are employed about the works. They are bound under indentures for 21 years.
The chief fishery is that of oysters; there are at present 10 oyster boats belonging to the parish; each boat requires 4 men. There are not, however, above 23 regular fishermen; all the others work occasionally on land or sea, as they find most for their advantage.
Though nine tenths of the lands are rented, there is not one family who depend for their livelihood solely on farming. There are only 5 brewers in the parish."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 17, p. 61
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 2, Section II, p. 324
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
