There are some great local societies in East Lothian offering talks and other events, from swimwear to coal mines. Well try to keep you up to date here and hopefully there will be something her that will spark your interest (just click the title of the talk to check times and venues).
16 January to 2 February 2026, Visions of Haddington – An exhibition at the John Gray Centre Museum combining images by Thomas Small, illustrator of A walk through history, HHS walking tour of Haddington, and artworks from the East Lothian Council collection. Curated by John Gray Centre and Haddington’s History Society.
Our thanks to Haddington & Lammermuir Area Partnership and Haddington and District Community Council for funding and to Friends of the John Gray Centre for their support in this project.
8 April 2026, 7pm, Early Medieval East Lothian: Aberlady in Legend by Tim Clarkson, Mediaval Historian – Aberlady Conservation and History Society
8 April 2026, 7pm The Lord Wardens of the Anglo-Scottish Marches Wendi Davidson (Author) – Tranent Local History Society
16 April 2026, 7.30pm Irish Migratory Potato Workers in East Lothian in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries by Heather Holmes, Historian – Haddington’s History Society
20 April 2026, 3.30 to 6.30pm Family & Local History Fair and Commonwealth War Graves Commission Presentation in the Star Room, John Gray Centre, Haddington
11 May 2026 at 6.30pm An Evening with Professor Sir Tom Devine, Haddington Corn Exchange
13 May 2026, 7pm The Bankpark Brickworks in Tranent by Ian Suddaby (Industrial Archaeologist) – Tranent Local History Society
Venues
ACHS – Aberlady Conservation and History Society
C&PS – Cockenzie and port Seton Local History Society
CCM – Coastal Communities Museum, North Berwick
ELAF – East Lothian Antiquarian and Field Naturalists’ Society
FJGC – Friends of the John Gray Centre
GDHS – Gullane and Dirleton History Society
HHS – Haddington’s History Society