Mercat Cross - Prestonpans

A quick bowls practice late morning and then I headed down to Prestonpans to visit family.  

I passed the Mercat Cross in Prestonpans everday during Primary 6 & 7 and throughout secondary school.  I can't say that it gets much attention from the locals, it's just part of the landscape.  But this Mercat Cross was erected in 1617 and is the only surviving one of its type still on its original site.  So it's of great historical importance.  

It's about 200 metres from Preston Tower and in the 1600s this was the centre of the town of 'Preston'.   Then it was a distinct and separate settlement from the coastal Prestonpans.  In 1617, the Hamiltons of Preston, the local landowners and residents of Preston Tower, were granted a charter to hold a weekly market and an annual fair.  The Mercat Cross was the focal point for those events.

Preston Mercat Cross was one of five built in Scotland in the 1600s to a similar design.  Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee were later destroyed or replaced. Aberdeen's was moved to a different location in 1840.

Proclamations were read from the top, and the bottom served as a small prison.

It's now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.