The following showcases the range of talks that members have enjoyed over the half decade or so. Also, you can view here brief reports of previous members outings that are held, generally, each year
- Society Talk Summary: Norman Churches in the Lothians
A talk by Bryan Hickman was held on 18th April 2024 at the Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Haddington. The talk described the standing remains of the 12th century churches that… - Society Talks: Getting away from it all – Marie de Guise’s Town House, Blyth’s Close, Edinburgh
A talk by Dr Anna Groundwater, National Museum of Scotland was held on 14th March 2024 at the Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Haddington. The following is a summary of… - Society Talks: Radar and the Air Defence System in Scotland
A talk by, Ian Brown, Curator at the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune, was held on 15th February 2024 at the Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Haddington. Ian… - Society Talks: Mary Wyndham, Countess of Wemyss – A Tale from Gosford
A talk by local historian, Ailsa Fortune, was held on 18th January 2024 at the Holy Trinity Church, Church Road, Haddington. The following is a precis of her talk: Mary Constance… - Society Talks: Members night – Four Forgotten Haddingtonians
At the Members night on Thursday 7 December at 7.30pm three Committee Members gave brief talks on four forgotten Haddingtonians. Nora Jenkinson I met Nora Jenkinson on several occasions when… - Society Talks: The Republican Era in British History
A talk by Jonathan Cobb, Historian and Author on the Republican Era in British History was held on 16th November 2023 at the Maitlandfield House Hotel, Haddington. He studied History at Edinburgh… - Society Talks: Mary of Guelders, (Queen of James II) and her connections to the Trinity Church in Edinburgh
A talk by Dr Amy Hayes on Mary of Guelders, (Queen of James II) and her connections to the Trinity Church in Edinburgh was held on 19th October 2023 at… - The Parthenon Marbles and the Local Connection: Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin
Presented by Ailsa Fortune September 2023 – At a significant time in the saga of the ‘Elgin’ marbles when the Greek government has, recently, again requested the return of the… - Programme of Talks for 2023-24
We are pleased to announce the programme for 2023-24. All talks from the 7th December 2023 will be held at Holy Trinity Church, Church Street, Haddington at 7.30pm. Doors open… - Lieutenants and Loyalty: How did Mary, Queen of Scots rule Scotland from an English prison?
Presented by Dr Amy Blakeway. Amy is a Senior Lecturer in Scottish History at the University of St Andrews. She is the author of Regency in Sixteenth-Century Scotland and Parliament and Convention in… - A Mine of Information: Coal Mining in East Lothian
by Victoria Brown (Education Manager, National Mining Museum, Newtongrange) – 16 March 2023 Victoria began by outlining the huge scale of the Scottish coal mining industry. At its peak, in… - The Remarkable Women of East Lothian: A History in Pictures
By Dr Hanita Ritchie, Local History Officer East Lothian Council Library Service Throughout history, women from all corners of the world have led lives very similar to their mothers and… - A Seal of Cause: The History and the People of the Royal College of Surgeons
20 January 2023 Steven Kerr, Librarian of RCSEd, gave us an enthusiastic and lively discourse on the history of the Royal College, and many of the important and interesting personalities… - East Lothian Politics 100yrs ago: A Time of Change
David Raw spoke on how politics in East Lothian changed in the early 20th century. - A Queen’s Jewel Box: The 1566 Inventory of Mary Queen of Scots
Dr Alison Rosie of the National Records of Scotland spoke on this topic. She dealt comprehensively with the inventories and their contents, outlining the principal jewels and textiles, their composition… - John Kincaid, Scotland’s Witch Brodder
In a very entertaining, lucid talk without visual aids, Mary Craig shed light on one of the darker manifestations of 17th century Scottish religious fervour – the persecution of women… - The Viking Age in Southern Scotland:new thoughts on old finds by Adrian Maldonaldo
Adrian gave us an analysis of the historical and archaeological evidence concerning what is known as the Viking Age – a period between late 8th to the 12 centuries when… - 2022 Members Outing to Thirlestane Castle
Twenty three members enjoyed an interesting outing to Thirlestane Castle in Lauder on Tuesday 28th June 2022. Two guides escorted members round the restored rooms explaining their history. Many of… - The Peebles Hoard
The final talk in our 2021/22 season was given by Emily Freeman, manager of the Treasure Trove Unit in Scotland. Emily explained that all ownerless artifacts found in Scotland belong… - Lost Haddington
Lifetime Haddington resident John Hamilton has taken on the mantle of past collectors of photographs of Haddington such as George Angus and Jack Tully-Jackson and has digitised thousands of photographs… - Stories from Garleton: A Castle’s Tale
In a very entertaining talk David Connolly led us through some of the complexities of the construction and history of Garleton Castle sited at East Garleton. Specifically, he had been… - The Grand Fleet in the Forth – The Royal Navy in World War 1
Andrew Kerr treated us to a detailed and fascinating talk covering the range of naval actions in WW1 – those of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas… - Of Popcorn and Picture Houses: A History of Haddington Cinemas
Opened in the 1940s/50s on the site of the original County Cinema, HAddington (o. 1930s by Scott’s Empires (Paulo & Scott). Destroyed by fire, early 40s) - The Whitadder Project – Investigating archaeology in the Lammermuirs
On Thursday 9th September the first talk of the 2021/2022 season, which was part of East Lothian’s Archaeology Fortnight, was delivered by zoom due to COVID. Graeme Cavers of AOC… - Scottish Caribbean Historical Connections
April 15th 2021 Professor Sir Geoff Palmer gave a thought provoking talk about “Scottish Caribbean Historical Connections” He explained that many Scots had made their fortunes by exploiting slaves particularly… - The life of the 1st Marquess of Dalhousie
Fran Woodrow, one of East Lothian Council’s archivists, described the life of the 1st Marquess of Dalhousie using letters and other material from the “Coulston Papers” This collection of papers… - Bringing Buildings Back to life – community archaeology at Black Bull Close, Dunbar
Jenni Morrison, an Associate of Addyman Archaeology, described the work being undertaken in Dunbar to renovated old disused buildings starting with Black Bull Close. The archaeology and history of the… - St Martin’s Kirk: New Light on an Old Ruin
East Lothian Archaeologist Stephanie Leith presented the findings of recent work at St Martin’s Church, Haddington in “New light on an old Ruin” Using maps and results of various survey… - Is it true? -‘historical truth’ and the role of oral tradition
Local storyteller, Tim Porteous kicked off our season of zoom talks on 3rd December. His topic “Is it true? -‘historical truth’ and the role of oral tradition” was a thought… - Neolithic, Dark Age or both? A tale of eastern Scottish timber halls at Doon Hill, East Lothian, and Balbridie, Aberdeenshire
Professor Ian Ralston entertained us with an engrossing talk on the development of interpretations of the Doon Hill archaeological remains, long thought to represent British/Anglian timber halls. Ian’s prelude to… - Taken to Court: a Window on Life in the Past
Based on his work of many years at the National Records Office, Frank Bigwood distilled some of the minutae of our social history from Sheriff Court and Justice of the… - The most powerful naval fortress in the British Empire: fortification of the Firth of Forth, 1880-1977
The Fortification of the Firth of Forth by Gordon Barclay and Ron Morris (as reviewed by the Society of Antiquaries) describes the story of the great Forth Fortress from 1880 to… - Search for Seton Palace
In a fitting contribution to the East Lothian Archaeology and Local History Fortnight, three of four Port Seton metal detectorists, who are also keen amateur historians and archaeologists, served up… - 2019 Members’ Outing: Berwick upon Tweed
On a dry but cool day with some sun, 21 members under the guidance of Jim Herbert were given a tour of the Elizabethan walls in the morning and, after… - Rosslyn Chapel: Past, Present and Future
Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, delivered a comprehensive and very enjoyable talk on this remarkable chapel. Conceived as a family chapel by Sir William St Clair (Sinclair) in… - The History and Archaeology of the 1722 Waggonway and Cockenzie Salt Pans
Ed Bethune described the history of the Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway from its origins and heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, to its final demise. Originally, a wooden railway… - Horrid Haddington
Based on her work on the Haddington Council minutes, East Lothian Council archivist Fran Woodrow provided us with an entertaining look at examples from the late medieval to early modern… - Alchemy, Seaweed and Bottles – the early Scottish glass industry along the East Lothian coast
Former Conservator and Collections Care manager at the National Museum of Scotland, Helen Spencer, is an archaeological scientist with a particular interest in stained glass (see Helen’s Talk on Mediaval… - Ship to Shore – an assemblage of reused ship’s timbers in MacArthur’s Store, Dunbar
Maritime archaeologist Dr Dan Atkinson, currently Director of Coastal and Marine with Wessex Archaeology, introduced us to the fascinating topic of old ships’ timbers, the ways in which they were… - Leaving Nothing but the Plague: The Survivor’s Guide to the Siege of Haddington
Jon Cooper treated us to an enthusiastic and entertaining presentation on the development of 16th century warfare and its relevance to the siege of Haddington 1548/49. War, famine, disease and,… - East Lothian Castles and the Ladies
Chris Tabraham, formerly Principal Historian for Historic Scotland, entertained us with a talk on the status of women in medieval castles. As a general rule, the wife of a powerful… - Catherine Blair and the SWRI
Dr Hanita Ritchie of the John Gray Centre delivered this very timely and appropriate talk only one week after the celebration of International Womens Day on 08 March. Born Catherine… - “On Gladsmuir shall the battle be”
Arran Johnston, founder of the Scottish Battlefields Trust, delivered an excellent, well received talk on the Battle of Prestonpans. The talk was based on his book of the above title… - The Kingis Yard (Haddington)
In a very interesting talk Helen Robertson made the case for the presence of a mediaeval royal residence by the Tyne, near St Mary’s Church. She was intrigued by some… - Maps of East Lothian
Craig Statham gave us a fascinating and very informative talk on the use of the maps catalogue held by the National Library of Scotland, in the contexts of local history… - Par for the Ladies
This very engaging and amusing talk was given by Ailsa Fortune, known to many of us through her articles in East Lothian Life and her column in the East Lothian… - 2017 Summer outing to Mellerstain House
Twenty-two members headed south towards Kelso to visit this wonderful Adams house. The weather was less promising than usual but Bill timed the visit to perfection and the heaviest rain… - 2016 Summer Outing to Arniston House, Midlothian
On Monday 16th May thirteen members travelled to this William Adam, Palladian style mansion house set in acres of beautiful parkland just 11 miles from Edinburgh. It has been home… - 2015 Summer Outing to Colstoun
Nineteen members were able to visit Colstoun on a lovely sunny morning on Friday 15th May 2015. The visit was judged a great success as we were shown round by…