Preston Tower, East Lothian facts for kids
Preston Tower is an old, ruined castle tower in the Scottish village of Prestonpans. It's an "L-plan" keep, which means it's shaped like the letter 'L'. This historic tower stands very close to two other old houses: Hamilton House and Northfield House.
The Tower's Story
The oldest parts of Preston Tower might be from the 1300s. It originally had four floors. In 1626, two more floors were added above the top edge, called the parapet. These new parts had fancy Renaissance style windows. They even had the initials "SIDKH" carved into them, standing for Sir John and Dame Katherine Hamilton.
The entrance to the Tower had a special wooden structure. From this, defenders could drop things like rocks, hot sand, or boiling oil on attackers below. This was a common defense method for castles.
Preston Tower became part of the Hamilton family's property around the end of the 1300s through marriage. The tower was burned by the Earl of Hertford in 1544. This happened during a time of conflict known as the Rough Wooing. Later, in 1650, it was burned again by Oliver Cromwell.
After being repaired, the tower accidentally caught fire again in 1663. Because of this, the Hamilton family left Preston Tower and moved to the nearby Preston House, East Lothian. One famous member of the Hamilton family was Robert Hamilton. He was a leader for the Covenanters, a group who supported a certain type of church in Scotland.
The Hamilton family lost their property in 1684. However, they got it back in the 1800s.
In 1969, the National Trust for Scotland bought Preston Tower. Today, East Lothian Council looks after it.
Other Features
The area around Preston Tower has a beautiful laburnum arch, which is a walkway covered by flowering trees. There is also a herb garden where different kinds of herbs are grown.
You can also see a special building called a doocot (or dovecote). This building was used to keep pigeons or doves. The doocot at Preston Tower is shaped like a lectern, which is a stand for holding books. It was built in the mid-1600s, after Cromwell had damaged the Tower.
Preston Tower also had a small prison pit. However, the nearby Preston Merkat Cross was later used as the main local prison instead.
Images for kids
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Lectern doocot at Preston Tower
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