West Saltoun
| West Saltoun | |
| East Lothian | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Saltoun village shop | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT467676 |
| Location: | 55°53’56"N, 2°51’5"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Tranent |
| Postcode: | EH34 |
| Dialling code: | 01875 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Lothian |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
East Lothian |
West Saltoun is a small village in East Lothian, about five miles south-west of Haddington. It is one of a pair with East Saltoun, the latter now the larger of the two, and shares with it a parish ('Saltoun').
The villages of East Saltoun and West Saltoun and the rural and predominantly agricultural. They sit in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills, about a mile apart from one another. To the south the villages are largely bordered by woodland: Petersmuir Wood, Dryden, and Saltoun Big Wood.
History
In the 12th century King David I granted lands in Saltoun to Hugh de Moreville. In 1643 the lands and barony were sold to Andrew Fletcher, and it was the Fletcher family who attempted to make Saltoun a centre of manufacturing in the early 18th century.[1]
Most industry was sited in West Saltoun (formerly 'Milton'), on the Birns Water. The first barley mill in Scotland was established there in 1712, and the British Linen Company had bleachfields in West Saltoun in 1746.[2]
In the early 19th century the Fletcher family invested further in the parish by helping to pay for a new church, manse and school in East Saltoun, and commissioning additions to Saltoun Hall near West Saltoun.[3]
By the mid 19th century most of the parish's industries were failing, and the land was given over to agriculture.
The village
At one time West Saltoun was the larger village, and had its own school, post office, and shop. Today, West Saltoun is smaller and is made up of just a few houses, with Saltoun Big Wood and the Birns Water nearby.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about West Saltoun) |