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Auldhame and Scoughall are
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
in
East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...
, Scotland. They are close to the town of
North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...
and the village of
Whitekirk Whitekirk is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland. Together with the nearby settlement of Tyninghame, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame. Whitekirk Whitekirk is from North Berwick, from Dunbar and east of Ed ...
, and are approximately east of
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
.


Saint Baldred's legacy

It is said that the 8th-century
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
missionary Saint Baldred had one of his bases at Auldhame, and through his influence the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Auldhame had significant influence in the development of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
in Scotland. His name also lives on in St Baldred's Church and St Baldred's Road in
North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...
. Following his death there was a dispute between the
parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
of Auldhame,
Tyninghame Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame. Tyninghame Tyninghame is a ...
, and Prestonkirk, as to which should have his body. The story goes that by the advice of a Holy Man, they spent the night in prayer. In the morning three bodies were found, in all respects alike, each in its winding sheet, prepared for burial. To this day all three churches maintain Saint Baldred was buried within their walls. In 2005 skeletal and archaeological remains, thought to be a church, were discovered in a field at Auldhame. Initial estimates that the church dated from the Medieval period were later proved wrong, and it was established that the find may even date from the time of Saint Baldred himself.


History

In the 16th century Auldhame belonged to the Otterburn family: Scoughall belonged to the Auchmoutie family. In 1618 the poet John Taylor visited the Auchmouties and ate solan goose from the
Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
from a buffet. Sands at Scoughall were a hazard to shipping. In 1581 Margaret Hay, Lady
Tyninghame Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame. Tyninghame Tyninghame is a ...
, acquired two iron cannon from an English ship that had perished on the sands. Gin Head is the site of a former Admiralty signals base constructed in 1943.


Today

Today there is little in the area except farming. The houses at Auldhame and Scoughall are given little thought by those driving to North Berwick or visiting nearby
Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. History The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...
or
Tantallon Castle Tantallon Castle is a ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to b ...
. Indeed, such visitors are likely to be gazing towards the Bass Rock rather than considering the scattered houses and cottages at the roadside.


Link to Robert Louis Stevenson

In 1919, John Robert Dale bought the estate of
Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. History The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...
, Scoughall and Auldhame after being tenant farmer of Scoughall since 1848, and Auldhame since 1834. The three estates remain to this day in the ownership of the Dale family. The novelist
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
was related to John Robert Dale and spent several boyhood holidays at Scoughall. It was here in front of the farmhouse fire that the young Stevenson first heard the story of how folks in these parts on dark stormy nights, when winds used to lash the coast, lured sailing ships onto the rocks by displaying misleading lantern lights. The 'Pagans of Scoughall' had the worst of reputations. They were said to tie a horse's neck to its knee and attach a lantern to the rope, then drive the horse slowly along the cliffs, so that a vessel out at sea would think it a ship riding at anchor, and come in, only to be wrecked on the rocky reef known as the Great Car and be plundered. These tales gave Stevenson the idea for his story "The Wreckers". Robert Louis Stevenson also wrote in his novel ''
Catriona Catriona is a feminine given name in the English language. It is an Anglicisation of the Irish Caitríona or Scottish Gaelic Catrìona, which are forms of the English Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other var ...
'' (sequel to ''Kidnapped'') of the 'lights of Scoughall' and purposely put 'Tam Dale' in charge of the prisoners on the Bass Rock.


See also

*
List of places in East Lothian The List of places in East Lothian is a list for any town, village and hamlet in the East Lothian council area of Scotland. Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum A * Aberlady, Aberlady Bay * Archerfield Estate and Lin ...
* Scougal (surname) * Canty Bay


References

*''The Churches of Saint Baldred'', by A.E.Ritchie, Edinburgh, 1880. *''North Berwick, Gullane, Aberlady, East Linton & District'', by R.P. Phillimore,1913.


External links


AOC Archaeology Group - Early medieval chapel & cemetery, Auldhame, East Lothian
Archive copy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auldhame and Scoughall Villages in East Lothian