Athelstaneford () is a village in
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, 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 called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
, Scotland. It lies almost 6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north-east of the market town of
Haddington and about 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Battle of Athelstaneford
According to popular legend, Athelstaneford is where the original
Scottish saltire - the white diagonal cross on a sky blue background - was first adopted. On the eve of a battle between rival armies of
Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...
and
Northumbrians
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
in 832AD,
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
, who was crucified on a diagonal cross, came to the Pictish King
Óengus II
Óengus mac Fergusa (Angus MacFergus; Irish ''Onuist'', Latinized ''Hungus'') was king of the Picts from 820 until 834. In Scottish historiography, he is associated with the veneration of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. Although, this ...
in a vision promising victory. The next morning the Picts saw a white cross formed by clouds in the sky. They won the battle and attributed their victory to the blessing of Saint Andrew, adopting his form of the cross as their flag, and naming him as their
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
. The leader of the retreating Angles, a man called Athelstan, was said to have been slain at a nearby river crossing, hence the name Athelstaneford. However, there is considerable doubt as to even the basic historic facts. The Pictish king may actually have been
Óengus I
Óengus son of Fergus ( xpi, *Onuist map Vurguist; sga, Óengus mac Fergusso, "Angus son of Fergus"), was king of the Picts, of possible Gaelic origin, from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a varie ...
while the English leader may have been the English king
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first ...
, who
invaded Scotland in AD 934. Whatever the truth, the legend has cemented Athelstaneford's place in Scotland's history.
Attractions
The village is home to the National Flag Heritage Centre which occupies a lectern doocot built in 1583 and rebuilt in 1996. It is at the back of the village church.
Today the village is surrounded by rich farmland and has little in the way of amenities. Tourists can follow the "Saltire Trail", a road route which passes by various local landmarks and places of historical interest.
Athelstaneford Parish Kirk has a connection with the author
Nigel Tranter
Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...
who was a prominent supporter of the Scottish Flag Trust. He married in the church, and in April 2008 a permanent exhibition of his memorabilia was mounted in the north
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
of the church. Items include a copy of Nigel Tranter's old typewriter, a collection of manuscripts and books, and other personal items. The display was previously at
Lennoxlove House
Lennoxlove House is a historic house set in woodlands half a mile south of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. The house comprises a 15th-century tower, originally known as Lethington Castle, and has been extended several times, principally in ...
, and prior to that at
Abbotsford House
Abbotsford is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Galashiels, on the south bank of the River Tweed. Now open to the public, it was built as the residence of historical novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott between 1817 and 1825 ...
, the home of
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
.
Gilmerton House, home of the
Kinloch baronets
There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Kinloch, two in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2010.
The Kinloch Baronetcy, of Kinloch ...
is in the parish of Athelstaneford and now operates as a private hire and exclusive use venue.
See also
*
List of places in East Lothian
''Map of places in East Lothian compiled from this list''
The List of places in East Lothian is a list for any town, village, hamlet, castle, golf course, historic house, hill fort, lighthouse, nature reserve, reservoir, river, and other place of ...
Notes
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Villages in East Lothian