About East Linton

Click to return

East Linton is a small burgh situated 25 miles east of Edinburgh. The village was originally built because of its location on the banks of the river Tyne, the name Linton is most probably derived from the village waterfall which is called the Linn.

At one time East Linton was a busy working village full of working mills which were powered from the river Tyne, these included Linen, Flour and a distillery to name but a few. Preston Mill which was one of these mills built around 1599 still survives today; it is still in working condition, powered by the river Tyne and is open to visitors daily, it also has a Kiln attached to it.. Because East Linton is located in the heart of East Lothian’s finest agricultural land it also had its own livestock market and slaughter house which produced meat for East Linton and many of the surrounding areas.

A bridge was built over the river Tyne during the 16^th Century; this enabled easy access for travellers on the Great Northern Road between Edinburgh and London and enabled East Linton to be a Staging Post which caused the village to grow in importance. Many of the old original buildings still survive on this route today including the Bridgend Hotel (originally known as the Douglas Inn) which was a stop off point for many travellers and a change over point for mail coaches. In 1846 a Railway Station was built in the village on the Great North Eastern Railway Line, this station was not only used for passenger use but also for goods, it became a vital link for the area in goods transportation especially during harvest time where farms would transport Potatoes, Sugar beet and other vegetables and grains to the station to be transported to Edinburgh and even Leith Doc’s.

 In 1960 the Station was closed due to the lack of use; however the main East Coast line still goes through East Linton and the remains of the fine old Victorian Station can still be seen today.

Prestonkirk parish church which was built in the 18^th Century and has its own built in chancel which is 13^th century  is still in use today for local worship, one of the graves in the church yard belong to Andrew Meikle who was the inventor  of the threshing machine. Of course Andrew Meikle wasn’t the only famous person to come from East Linton, John Rennie the civil engineer was born at Phantassie in 1761,. John actually started off working as a millwright with Andrew Meikle then studied at Edinburgh University to become a civil engineer. In 1791 he moved to London where he started his own company and became a famous bridge builder. Johns last project was London Bridge, he died in 1821 before the job was finished, however his son also called John Rennie took over and completed the bridge.

Another well known was John Pettie, Born in Edinburgh in 1839 he moved to East Linton with his family at the age of 13. It was while living in East Linton that he became an artist and this led him to attend the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh at the age of 16. From then on his work became well known, many of his illustrations were used in book work which brought him much fame. John died in 1894 but his work is still on show, one of these is his self portrait which hangs in the Tate Gallery.

Today East Linton and its surrounding areas are one of the finest places to visit, it is one of the most beautiful areas in East Lothian, steeped in history and surrounded by some of the oldest buildings. One of the main features in the village is the fountain with its four cherubs, this was built in 1882 and can still be seen working with its little cherubs pouring water out of their vessels into the main fountain.  Also behind the Fountain is St Andrews Church,  but is now a place of residence. The large clock on the tower  was built to commemorate the Queen Victoria Jubilee and is still kept in fine working condition to this day.

Other places of interest around East Linton are the Phantassie Doocot, East Fortune Museum of Flight, Hailes Castle, East Lothian Path Network, and Whitekirk Church to name but a few.

This website will keep you up to date with all local attractions within and around the Burgh of East Linton, please feel free to browse round the site and hopefully you will come and visit us soon.