Kingston, East Lothian

Kingston
Kingston
	Kingston
	Kingston Kingston Location within Scotland
OS grid reference	NT541823
Civil parish	Dirleton;
Council area	East Lothian Council;
Lieutenancy area	East Lothian;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NORTH BERWICK
Postcode district	EH39
Dialling code	01620
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	East Lothian;
Scottish Parliament	East Lothian;
	List of places UK Scotland 56°01′55″N 2°44′13″W / 56.032°N 2.737°W

Kingston is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland.

Kingston was once known as Kings Seat; historic maps of the area show this.^[1]^[2]

Archaeology and Prehistory

In 2001, workmen excavating a pipe trench discovered human remains. CFA Archaeology was commissioned by Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) to investigate. The subsequent excavations discovered a range of archaeological features - two prehistoric short-cists and thirty-eight early medieval long-cist burials. The medieval long cist was dated to the 6th-8th centuries AD. A stone with a Maltese cross was found, which may be related to the Knights Hospitaller, who were known to own land in the area in the 15th century AD.^[3]

Fenton Tower

Fenton Tower in Kingston is a refurbished 16th century tower house. It retains the original footprint of the square keep, but now encompasses 7000 sq. ft. of living space over several levels. Fenton Tower was used as the location for Archie's castle in the BBC children's programme Balamory.^[4] The tower is depicted as being bright pink in the show, although in reality it is a more traditional off-white to Stone Grey colour, with the hue added in post-production.

Fenton Tower was built on the lands of 'Fentoun'. "During the reign of King David I of Scots (1124-1153) the lands of 'Fentoun' along with the lands of Gullane, Archerfield, Dirleton and Fidra island were all held by the Anglo-Norman De-vaux family who later gifted 'Fentoun' to their English kin the De-vauxs of Lanercost Priory. In the mid 12th century the De-vauxs built a 'castri' on the Fidra, a chapel at Gullane, a tower of 'Eilbote' at Archerfield (which must have been a place of some importance since King David signed a charter for the lands of Carberry witnessed at 'El bottle' ) and finally a stone castle at Dirleton itself during the reign of King Alexander II of Scots (1214-1249)"^[5]

James VI of Scotland visited several times, as a guest of Sir John Carmichael, who built the castle, which was described in January 1591 as 'a fair house' when Carmichael was having a dispute over the ownership of the site with the Laird of Innerwick. In May 1592 James stayed with his wife Anne of Denmark attended by his English servant Roger Aston.^[6]

Fenton Tower is a Category A listed building.^[7]

Images

A row of white-washed cottages at Kingston
Balgone Windmill
Kingston
Fenton Tower

Notable persons

Sir John Carmichael (died 16 June 1600) Lord Warden of the Western Marches
Prof Alan James Duncan FRSE (1938-1999) atomic physicist^[8]
Prof Jamie A. Davies FRSE (1965- ) developmental biologist/ bioengineer.

References

^ "Lothian and Linlitquo / Joh. et Cornelius Blaeu exc. - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
^ "Lothian : contains The Shire of Linlithgow or West Lothian. The Shire of Edinburgh or Midlothian. and Haddington or East Lothian / by H. Moll. - Maps of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
^ "Vol 34 (2009): Two prehistoric short-cists and an early medieval long-cist cemetery with dug graves on Kingston Common, North Berwick, East Lothian | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ "A Historic Scottish Castle Becomes a Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ "Fenton Tower". www.douglashistory.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (1936), p. 452, 674: David Moysie, Memoirs of the affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 94.
^ Historic Environment Scotland. "FENTON TOWER (Category A Listed Building) (LB14743)". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.

External links

Fenton Tower official site
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (CANMORE) Reports on historical monuments around Kingston
Groome's 19th Century Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland Kingston entry

[1] "Lothian and Linlitquo / Joh. et Cornelius Blaeu exc. - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

[2] "Lothian : contains The Shire of Linlithgow or West Lothian. The Shire of Edinburgh or Midlothian. and Haddington or East Lothian / by H. Moll. - Maps of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

[3] "Vol 34 (2009): Two prehistoric short-cists and an early medieval long-cist cemetery with dug graves on Kingston Common, North Berwick, East Lothian | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

[4] "A Historic Scottish Castle Becomes a Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[5] "Fenton Tower". www.douglashistory.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

[6] Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (1936), p. 452, 674: David Moysie, Memoirs of the affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 94.

[7] Historic Environment Scotland. "FENTON TOWER (Category A Listed Building) (LB14743)". Retrieved 14 March 2019.

[8] Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.

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