East Lothian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
East Lothian
East Lowden Lodainn an Ear Haddingtonshire
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![]() Bass Rock off the coast of East Lothian
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
Country | Scotland | ||
Lieutenancy area | East Lothian | ||
Admin HQ | Haddington | ||
Government | |||
• Type | Unitary authority | ||
• Body | East Lothian Council | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 262.2 sq mi (679.2 km2) | ||
Area rank | Ranked 18th | ||
Population
(2020)
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• Total | 105,790 | ||
• Rank | Ranked 21st | ||
• Density | 403.41/sq mi (155.757/km2) | ||
ONS code | S12000010 | ||
ISO 3166 code | GB-ELN | ||
Largest city | Musselburgh |
East Lothian ( Scots: East Lowden; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was also known as Haddingtonshire.
In 1975, the historic county was incorporated for local government purposes into Lothian Region as East Lothian District, with some slight alterations of its boundaries. The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 later created East Lothian as one of 32 modern council areas. East Lothian lies south of the Firth of Forth in the eastern central Lowlands of Scotland. It borders Edinburgh to the west, Midlothian to the south-west and the Scottish Borders to the south. Its administrative centre and former county town is Haddington while the largest town is Musselburgh.
Haddingtonshire has ancient origins and is named in a charter of 1139 as Hadintunschira and in another of 1141 as Hadintunshire. Three of the county's towns were designated as royal burghs: Haddington, Dunbar, and North Berwick.
As with the rest of Lothian, it formed part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia and later the Kingdom of Northumbria. Popular legend suggests that it was at a battle between the Picts and Angles in the East Lothian village of Athelstaneford in 823 that the flag of Scotland was conceived. From the 10th century, Lothian transferred from the Kingdom of England to the authority of the monarchs of Scotland. It was a cross-point in battles between England and Scotland and later the site of a significant Jacobite victory against Government forces in the Battle of Prestonpans. In the 19th century, the county is mentioned in the Gazetteer for Scotland as chiefly agricultural, with farming, fishing and coal-mining forming significant parts of the local economy.
Contents
Places of interest
- Aberlady Bay
- Bass Rock
- Dirleton Castle
- Dunglass Collegiate Church
- Fa'side Castle
- Fenton Barns Retail & Leisure Village
- Hailes Castle
- Hopetoun Monument
- Lennoxlove historic house
- Longniddry Bents
- Muirfield Golf Links
- Museum of Flight, East Fortune
- North Berwick Harbour
- North Berwick Law
- Preston Mill
- Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum
- Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick
- Seacliff Beach
- Seton Collegiate Church
- Tantallon Castle
- Chesters Hill Fort
- Torness Nuclear Power Station
- Traprain Law
- Yellowcraigs, a beach and conservation area
Towns and villages
- Aberlady
- Athelstaneford
- Auldhame
- Ballencrieff
- Bolton
- Cockenzie
- Dirleton
- Drem
- Dunbar
- East Fortune
- East Linton
- East Saltoun
- Elphinstone
- Fenton Barns
- Garvald
- Gifford
- Gladsmuir
- Glenkinchie
- Gullane
- Haddington
- Humbie
- Innerwick
- Kingston
- Longniddry
- Luffness
- Macmerry
- Musselburgh
- North Berwick
- Ormiston
- Pencaitland
- Port Seton
- Prestonpans
- Samuelston
- Scoughall
- Spott
- Stenton
- Tranent
- Wallyford
- West Barns
- West Saltoun
- Whitecraig
- Whitekirk and Tyninghame
- Whittingehame
- Wellington
Civil Parishes
- 1.Aberlady
- 2.Athelstaneford
- 3.Bolton
- 4.Dirleton
- 5.Dunbar
- 6.Garvald
- 7. Gullane
- 8.Gladsmuir
- 9.Haddington
- 10.Humbie
- 11.Innerwick
- 12. Morham
- 13.North Berwick
- 14. Oldhamstocks
- 15Ormiston
- 16.Pencaitland
- 17. Presterkirk
- 18.Prestonpans
- 19. Salton
- 20. Soutra (and Fala)
- 21.Spott
- 22.Stenton
- 23.Tranent
- 24.Whittingehame
- 25.Whitekirk
East Lothian Council
East Lothian Council is based at John Muir House, Haddington
Council political compositions
- Labour - 10
- Scottish National Party - 8
- Conservative - 3
- Independent - 1
- Independent Nationalist - 1
On the 18th September 2014, East Lothian like most council areas, said "No" in the Scottish Independence Referendum at 61.7% with a 87.9% turnout rate.
Demography
The population of East Lothian as of 2019 is 105,790. This is an increase of over 6,000 since 2011 and this is projected to reach over 120,000 by the 2030s. The fastest growing district in East Lothian is the Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry ward which is expected to see its population of just over 20,000 increase to just under 30,000 by 2026.
Ethnicity
Population by major ethnic group in East Lothian according to the 2011 Scottish Census is as follows:
Ethnic Group | Number | % |
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White: British | 94,951 | 95.2% |
White: Other | 3,420 | 3.4% |
Asian | 955 | 1% |
African | 179 | 0.2% |
Caribbean or Black | 107 | 0.1% |
Other Ethnic Groups | 102 | 0.1% |
Education
There are a range of schools in the county, including six state secondaries: Dunbar Grammar School, Knox Academy (formerly the Grammar School) in Haddington, Musselburgh Grammar School, North Berwick High School, Preston Lodge High School in Prestonpans and Ross High School in Tranent.
There are two independent schools in the county. Loretto School is a day and boarding school in Musselburgh founded in 1827 and Belhaven Hill School, established in 1923 is a smaller preparatory school in Dunbar also providing boarding.
In 2007, Queen Margaret University began its move to a new, purpose-built campus in Musselburgh within East Lothian, providing it with its first university.
Transport
Road
The A1 road travels through East Lothian where it meets the Scottish Borders southbound and Edinburgh northbound. The A1 throughout East Lothian is dual carriageway and major junctions include Dunbar, Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh.
Starting in Leith, the A199 road also travels through East Lothian beginning at Musselburgh and passing through Wallyford, Tranent, Macmerry and Haddington before joining the A1 in West Barns.
Some non-primary routes in East Lothian are the A198, A1087, A6093 and A6137 roads.
Public transport
East Lothian is served by seven railway stations: Dunbar and Musselburgh on the East Coast Main Line; and North Berwick, Drem, Longniddry, Prestonpans and Wallyford on the North Berwick Line. Rail service operators which travel through and stop at stations in the area include: ScotRail on both lines; and CrossCountry and London North Eastern Railway on the East Coast Main Line.
Bus operators in East Lothian are: Lothian Buses and its subsidiary East Coast Buses, Eve Coaches of Dunbar, Prentice of Haddington and Borders Buses. East Coast Buses is the main bus service provider connecting the towns and villages of East Lothian to Edinburgh. The company has depots in North Berwick and Musselburgh.