Ballencrieff (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Baile na Craoibhe)'' is a rural community 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 is located between the towns of

Aberlady Aberlady ( sco, Aiberleddy, Gaelic: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. The village had an estimated population of in . Etymology The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of ...

Drem Drem (Scottish Gaelic: ''Druim'') is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is approximately 20 miles east of Edinburgh and is close to Haddington (to the south), North Berwick (northeast), Dirleton (north) and Gullane (north west). It ...

, Haddington and

Longniddry Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
...

and is approximately 20 miles from

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 ...

. The name comes from the

Baile na Craoibhe meaning "Town of the green". There is a prehistoric enclosure at Ballencrieff Mains which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The village comprises typical rural housing, and there was some industry in the past. There is a farm and farm shop which breeds rare breed pigs. Nearby Ballencrieff Castle was built in 1507. This was the seat of the Murray family, the Lords Elibank, and James Murray, who was the governor of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

was born here in 1721. There is a 16th Century granary located south south west of the castle. There was a brickworks in Ballencrieff which was shown on a 1799 map and in 1837 a George Reid was recorded as a brick and tile maker. In 1838 the

Marquess of Tweeddale Marquess of Tweeddale (sometimes spelled ''Tweedale'') is a title of the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1694 for the 2nd Earl of Tweeddale. Lord Tweeddale holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Tweeddale (created 1646), Earl of Gifford (1694), ...

tested a tile making machine at this site. It was still recorded on a map in 1853 and in 1867 William Brodie was recorded as a brick and tile manufacturer. It was last recorded in 1915 when the

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also ...

reported that the farmer G. Sinclair, who had been farming the land, bought the site from Lord Elibank. In 1846–1847 there was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

at Ballencrieff on the North British Railway, the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

still passes to the north of the settlement. The roundabout and whereabouts are also known for being something of a black spot for road traffic accidents, for example a fire engine crashed there in 2015 and an unconscious driver crashed into one of the roadside houses pictured above.

References

External links

Ballencrieff Rare Breed Pigs

{{authority control Villages in East Lothian

See also

References

External links