Traprain Law, some five miles east of Haddington and less than two miles south-west of East Linton is, to most of us passing on the nearby A1, just another hill towering over the flat landscapes of East Lothian: but nothing could be further from the truth. Traprain is not just any old hill but one of the most important sites in Scotland with a history dating from at least the Bronze Age, around 1500 BC, and continuously occupied for more than 1,000 years to the 6th century AD.
Author: James Denham
The Coming of the People’s School (Part three of ‘In the Path of Knowledge’)
Around the turn of the 19th. century there was growing unrest among the female population, who wanted wider education for girls – even Jane Welsh demanded to be taught Latin, ‘just like the boys’. Haddington born Jane later married Thomas Carlyle, the famous essayist and historian.
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In the Path of Knowledge – part two
The new school of 1579 flourished from the start, the years of disruption had passed and the seige of Haddington was a distant memory. Released from the bonds of the church, those were exciting times; a time of renewal for an ever growing campus.
The Honest Toun
Agricola’s Roman legions, who reached the mouth of the River Esk in 80AD, were not casual tourists. Their long-term goal was to make Musselburgh, just six miles east of Edinburgh and one of the oldest settlements in Scotland, one of the principal staging posts in their conquest of Scotland. Their work included building a fort at Inveresk, a bridge over the Esk and a harbour near the present harbour Fisherrow.
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Early Learning Centre
Religious houses were built around Haddington during the 12th and 13th century. The brothers present decided to do more than just spread the word of God. They educated the young men of that area and made Haddington one of the great seats of early learning in Scotland.