Ballencrieff is a rural community in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, Scotland. It lies between the towns of Aberlady, Drem, Haddington and

Longniddry Longniddry (, )
is a coastal village in East Lothian ...

and is approximately 20 miles north-east of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The name comes from the Gaelic ''Baile na Craoibhe'', meaning "stead of the tree". There is a prehistoric enclosure at Ballencrieff Mains which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Ballencrief is just west of a roundabout where the A6137 road (Haddington to Aberlady) is crossed by the B1377 (Longniddry to Drem). 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 (governor of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) was born here in 1721. There is a 16th-century granary near 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 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 reported that the farmer G. Sinclair, who had been farming the land, bought the site from Lord Elibank. The

North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...

, opened in 1846, passes close to Ballencrieff, and there was a short-lived station here from June 1846 to November 1847. The line is still in use as part of the East Coast Main Line.

References

{{authority control Villages in East Lothian

See also

References