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Cranston
This charter dates from the late 1200's and relates
to the grant of the lands of East Kranston or Preston
to Kelso abbey. It refers to "the road which leads
to Haddington" and to "the road that comes
from Neucraneston".
Although it contains many placenames,
many of these have been lost and this makes it very
difficult to identify the boundaries detailed in the
charter. Even if we assume the boundaries are those
of the eastern part of Cranston parish, it is still
difficult to relate the charter to these.
In view of this we will limit
ourselves to the parts of the charter that contain the
references to see if an approximate idea can be obtained
of where the roads ran.
Road to Haddington
 The
first reference is "...and by the boundary between
Preston and Ormeston, beginning at a valley to the south,
ascending upwards by a syke as far as an ancient bank,
which is the ancient boundary towards the foot of Whitelaw,
and so ascending by the said bank directly up to the
cross which is situated on the boundary between Preston
and Ormeston, and on the road which leads towards
Haddington, then from the cross towards the south-east
as far as Peth-hevid, and so descending to the stream
which is called Wreke, then ascending the same river
until it comes to the syke which leads to New Craneston..."
"et per divisas inter Preston et
Ormeston, incipiendo ad unam vallem versus austrum,
ascendo sursum per syketum usque ad antiquam balcam,
quae est antiqua marchia ad pedem del Whitelaw; et sic
ascendo per dictam balcam directe usque ad crucem quae
stat in marchia inter Preston et Ormeston, in via
quae tendit versus Hadington, et a cruce versus austrum
orientis usque ad Peth-hevid; et sic descendo in rivulum
qui vocatur Wreke; et ascendendo per dictum rivulum
quosque veniat ad sycum qui venit de New Craneston"
Interpretation
This occurs after a
reference to the Water of Tyne so the presumption must
be that it was just east of the river on the boundary
of Ormiston. This is confirmed by Forrest's
map of Haddingtonshire (SW sheet) which shows Whitelaw
Hill at NT 402 672. The old church and presumed
settlement of Ormiston (the present day village dates
from 1735) were just north of the Cranston parish boundary
at NT 411 676.
One possibility is that it was
a road between Cranston (sited at NT 394 651) or Pathhead
to Haddington but against this is the fact that the
charter does not say the boundary followed the road
to Pathhead and also that the direction given is south-east
rather than south or south-west. Another possibility
is that it could have been a route between Dalkeith
or Newbattle to Haddington although the alignment with
Haddington is not as good as the other possibility.
In view of this there has to be
some doubt about the course of the road south of the
cross, however, it is clear enough in view of the mention
of Whitelaw that from this point the road would have
taken a reasonably direct line past Wester and Easter
Pencaitland to Haddington, some 8 or 9 miles away.
Road from Neucraneston
The second highway is referred to in the following:
"and by the west side of the petary as far as Oxinfalde,
from there by the cultivated land called Crossflat,
separately by the outer limits of Preston, as far as
the road which comes from Neucraneston, and by that
road separately by the foot of the slope as far as the
old course of the Tyne, until it come by that old course
to the water of Tyne, opposite the mill of wester Cranestun
below Hogam."
"et per costam petariae in occidentem
usque le Oxinfalde; et deinde per culturam quae vocatur
Crossflat seorsum per extremitates terrae de Preston,
usque in viam quae venit de Neucraneston; et
per illam viam seorsum per pedem conclivi usque
in veterem cursum de Tyne, quousque venerit per eundem
cursum in aquam de Tyne, contra molendinum de Wester
Cranestun subtus Hogam."
Interpretation
The context seems to place this in the vicinity
of Cranston itself. New Cranston is thought to have
been sited about 500 metres east of Cranston itself.
This would suggest the road was a local route rather
than long distance. If Oxinfalde is the Oxenfoord of
today, it is interesting to see that the original meaning
was "enclosure for oxen."
Monastic Annals of Teviotdale, page
136,
L. de Calchou charter
244, page 199
Duddingston
In this charter,
dating from 1466, Kelso Abbey granted land in Duddingston
to a burgess of Edinburgh. The charter reads "...that
portion of land in the barony of Dodingston that, on
the one hand, lies in front of and is bordered by the
via regia between Fegot Myrehede and a certain
pile of stones deposited on the eastern side; and on
the other, descending eastwards in front of a certain
fosse made in past times and bounded by the same stones
which extend to the marches of the lands of the village
of Wester Dodynston; and from there to the Fegot before
it reaches the sea, and towards the foot of the one
and the same Leth from the north, and so to the foot
of the Leth by the marches, measures and divisions going
up as far as the said Fegot Myrhede and the eastern
side of the said stones..."
"illam peciam terrae in
baronia de Dodingston, prout jacet ex ambabus partibus
viae regiae inter le Fegot Myrhede, et quandam
congregationem lapidum ibidem depositorum ex parte orientali,
ex parte una ; et descendendo ab oriente prout quaedam
fossa ex antiquo constructa, et metae in eadem depositae
se extendunt usque ad merchias terrarum villae de Wester
Dodynston ex parte occidentali, ex parte altera ; et
deinde a le Fegot, prout aqua currit in mare, et ad
pedem unius Leth ex parte boreali ; et sic a pede de
le Leth per merchias, metas, et divisas, ascendendo
usque ad dictum le Fegot Myrhede et dictum congregationem
lapidum ex parte orientali.."
Monastic Annals of
Teviotdale, page
138
L. de Calchou charter
531, page 423
Interpretation
Fegot is the Figget Water, a small stream
that runs just east of Arthur's Seat up to Portobello
on the coast. The
mention of the via regia so close to the Figget Water
makes it highly likely that it
is to be identified with the "Fishwive's Causeway"
which forms the parish boundary between Duddingston
and Leith. There is a long held tradition
that this was a Roman road heading west
from Inveresk.
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