Where would you find these in Haddington? 

Here’s our March 2025 poser. We’ll post it as usual on our own HHS Facebook page and also Old Haddingtonshire FB page

Question

Where are they in Haddington?  What are they?   Who might be annoyed if you had one?

Answer

Called Knockin stanes, these stone mortars are built into a wall in Haddington facing the Butts; possibly put there by Moncrieffs the builders who had an interest in preserving interesting masonry. They were a common ‘kitchen appliance’ sunk into the earth floor of medieval dwellings. They were used to dehusk barley by beating it with a wooden mallet or a stone pounder. This allowed it to be used for making broth or in the production of malt. They were also used to make oatmeal.

Ownership could be illlicit. Tenants were often ‘thirled to the mill’, i.e. bound to use the landlord’s or the town’s mill to process their grain in return for a fee or a percentage of the crop.

A recent excavation by CFA of a rural medieval settlement at Hallhill, near Dunbar, found several of the dwellings with the stanes still in position. They’ve also been found in croft houses – too heavy to move when the croft was abandoned?

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