Aberlady ( sco, Aiberleddy,

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of

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 his ...

. The village had an estimated population of in .

Etymology

The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of the name is the common naming element '' aber'', meaning "confluence, estuary". The second part is a river name, an earlier name for the West Peffer Burn, derived from either ''*lẹ:β'', which in river names may mean "glide smoothly", or ''*loβ'', a verbal root associated with "peeling away, decomposition, decay" (

Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...

''lobour'', "leprosy").

History

There is archaeological evidence of a significant and wealthy Anglo-Saxon settlement dating from 7th to the 10th centuries. In the Middle Ages, Aberlady was an important harbour for fishing, sealing, and whaling and was designated "Port of Haddington" by a 1633 Act of Parliament. However, its origins are much earlier. Aberlady had strong links with the monasteries at

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though ther ...

and

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

from the 7th century, and its role was to facilitate the pilgrim traffic between the two sites. Previous archaeological excavations have shown traces of a Culdee chapel, and Pope Gregory X made reference to the church which he called "Aberlefdi". The 8th century Aberlady Cross fragment can be seen at the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opene ...

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 ...

. A reconstruction of this finely carved cross was erected in 2011 by Aberlady Conservation & History Society. Aberlady Parish Church dates back to the 15th century. It was re-built in 1887. In 1986, the parishes of Aberlady and

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twe ...

were merged, and the Manse is now in Gullane. The "Aberlady Heritage Project" is a community-led project, and in 2008 it surveyed three sites — the medieval harbour quay commissioned in 1535, the Iron Age fort and associated souterrain at Kilspindie, and the Anglo-Saxon site at the Glebe. Aberlady boasts the largest collection of stray Anglo-Saxon finds yet discovered in Scotland.

Conservation

In 1952, Aberlady Bay became the UK's first Local Nature Reserve or LNR. Amongst its other conservation designations are:

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

or SSSI;

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

or SPA; and

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

East Lothian Council provides Reserve Wardens. Waterston House, overlooking Aberlady Bay, is the headquarters of the

Scottish Ornithologists' Club The Scottish Ornithologists' Club (SOC) is a Scottish ornithological body, founded in March 1936 at the premises of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. As of 2008, the SOC has 2,200 members. The Club runs the Scottish Birds Records Committee ...

(SOC). It is named after

George Waterston George Waterston OBE FRSE FZS LLD (10 April 1911 – 30 September 1980) was a 20th-century Scottish stationer , ornithologist and conservationist. From 1949 to 1954 he owned the remote Scottish island, Fair Isle. He founded the Inverleith Fiel ...

, joint founder of the SOC, and Director of the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thro ...

in Scotland. The Library holds over 3,500 items and is said to be the largest ornithological library in Scotland. The art gallery space is named after

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

Donald Watson who was President of SOC. The gallery specialises in bird-related paintings, but in May 2008 it had a

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

exhibition named "Flights of Fancy". The author Nigel Tranter was inspired to write on his daily walks on the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

. A

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...

in his memory stands at the car park by the wooden footbridge; Nigel Tranter referred to it as "the bridge to enchantment". Aberlady Conservation & History Society is the local focus for conservation in the built and natural environment of the village and its surroundings.

Nearby places of interest

Aberlady is close to several well-known golf courses including Luffness, Kilspindie and Craigielaw. Aberlady Bay, between Aberlady and

, holds the wrecks of eight 19th or early 20th century fishing vessels, which have been designated as maritime scheduled ancient monuments, and two wrecks of XT-craft, training versions of the

X-class submarine The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo. Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to th ...

References

External links