Haddington is a pleasant country town in East Lothian. Our most recent visit was in July last year when we stopped for lunch on our way to our holiday cottage on the east coast. After lunch, we strolled round the town, first passing The Goats of Haddington. This sculpture by Dyre Vaa, depicting two fighting goats, was gifted to the town by the Norwegian firm Tandberg Electronics in 1978. A goat and vine appear in the coat-of arms granted to the Royal Burgh of Haddington in 1296, and are believed to represent prosperity – there is no need for the goat to eat grass when a vine is available. Or so I read on Wikipedia!
At Haddington House, we strolled round St Mary’s Pleasance, a 17th century-style garden created in 1972.
Next door is St Mary’s Collegiate Church, the largest parish church in Scotland, dating from the 14th century and restored in the 1970s. We had a wander round, inside and out. The wheelbarrow in the church porch was part of the Blooming Haddington Wheelbarrow Trail – we saw a few more about town. The crucifixion was made by Margery Clinton when she was teaching art in a rough secondary school in London. This was her response in her studio at home. The green board is a 17th century Burgess Board recording legacies – known as mortifications – given for support of the poor. £12 Scots equated to £1 Sterling, so this one for £18 Scots is for £1.50, the equivalent of about £180 today.
Finally, we took a walk along the River Tyne, past an old mill (Poldrate Mill, now an Arts and Crafts Centre) and back into town.
A very pretty, genteel place? Yes, but not without its revolutionaries!
We didn’t meet any of them and continued safely towards our destination.
