Preston, East Lothian

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Preston is a village on the East Lothian coast of Scotland, UK, to the south of Prestonpans, the east of Prestongrange, and the southwest of Cockenzie and Port Seton. The name Preston means "priest town", and the monks of Holyrood Abbey and Newbattle Abbey owned land here. The village was noted for St Jerome's Fair, held on the second Thursday of October. The chapmen of the area had formed themselves into a guild and elected their office bearers at the fair. Two of Preston's most important structures are Preston Tower and Preston mercat cross. The mercat cross is unique in that it is the only such structure still in its original location and form. It has eight compartments, two doorways, six alcoves with semi-circular mouldings of scallop shells. The latter are said to be an allusion to the pilgrim traffic between North Berwick and St Andrews.