Stenton
Stenton
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Stenton showing the village Tron | |
Location within Scotland | |
OS grid reference | NT621743 |
Civil parish |
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Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | DUNBAR |
Postcode district | EH42 |
Dialling code | 01368 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Stenton (Scots: Staneton)[1] is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on the east by Spott and on the west by Whittingehame. The name is said to be of Saxon derivation. The village has a number of houses, a school, and a church.
Geography
A portion of the parish formerly cut off from the main part stretches into the Lammermuir Hills to a distance of about 8 miles from the village, and is bounded on the south by the Whiteadder Water, and Berwickshire.
Springs and streams abound in many parts of the parish. A rivulet which rises in the high ground of Stoneypath farm, runs through the Ruchlaw estate (ancient seat of the Sydserf family) and joins the
Early proprietors
Stenton had been a superiority of the Lauder of
Biel estate
The superiority of the lands of Biel were held until 1489 by the Dunbar family, former
When his grandson Robert Lauder of The Bass died in June 1576, he was succeeded by his son James Lauder, Dean of Restalrig, whom he at one time imprisoned in Biel Tower over religious matters. James Lauder apparently continued to reside there until he was murdered by a cousin "within his [James's] awin place of Beill" on October 4, 1580. Sixty-four years later, George, the last Lauder laird of
The Pele Tower at Biel dates from the 14th century and was added to through the years. In 1760 the house was extended to the west, and then in 1814-18 extended to the east by "vast monastic Gothic additions" in red sandstone by architect William Atkinson for William Hamilton-Nisbet of Biel. At the west end was a large conservatory rebuilt in 1883 as a chapel. Some of these fittings were retained when the chapel and most of Atkinson's magnificent house were demolished in 1952. The house as it stood before demolition was 593 foot in length, its great length being relieved by the original Tower in the middle, and the turret of the chapel at the west end. The lower part of the square tower (today the east end of the present block) contains the walls of the original Pele which had barrel-vaulted rooms in the basement. The Tapestry Room was refitted by Robert Lorimer in the early 20th century, and Country Life in 1902 thought Biel "deserved to be ranked among the finest of the great houses in Scotland". it owned the Pressmennan lake and built the house which was used as a game house for hunting and fishing. They sold it in the 1950s and is now a house.
Ruchlaw House
Just outside Stenton is Ruchlaw House, an early 17th-century, three-storey, L-shaped house built by Archibald Sydserf of Ruchlaw and completed in 1663. It is located on the left bank of the Sauchet Water, to the west of Stenton.[2] In 1950, the Scottish playwright James Brodie bought the house and lived there with his family for many years.[3]
Namesakes
Stenton, the country estate of James Logan (now a museum and park well within the city of Philadelphia), was named for Stenton parish, which was the birthplace of Logan's father. Philadelphia currently has two Stenton Avenues, at least one of which gets its name from the Stenton estate.
See also
References
- Citations
- Sources
- Davidson, Alexander (1791). The statistical account of Scotland. Drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes. Edinburgh: Printed and sold by William Creech. pp. 231-232.
- Logan, David (1845). The new statistical account of Scotland by Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons. pp. 55–60.
- Ten Parishes of the County of Haddington by John Martine, edited by E.J.Wilson, Haddington, East Lothian, 1894.
- Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, 1307-1357 edited by Joseph Bain, vol.III, 1307 - 1357, Edinburgh, 1887, pps: 337-8, 346, 386,& 391.
- Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland 1575 - 1580, edited by Gordon Donaldson, D.Litt., vol.vii, Edinburgh, 1966, number 2651, p. 431.
- Lost Houses of Scotland, by M.Binney, J.Harris, and E.Winnington, for SAVE Britain's Heritage, London, July 1980, ISBN 0-905978-05-6
- Scott, Hew (1915). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. pp. 420-422. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.