page_title: Haddington, East Lothian
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Haddington, East Lothian / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Haddington from Ja Ja postcard from Heraldic Series
context_page_description: The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which as a result of late-nineteenth century Scottish local government reforms took the form of the county of Haddingtonshire for the period from 1889 to 1921. It lies about 17 miles east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the sixth or seventh century AD when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia. The town, like the rest of the Lothian region, was ceded by King Edgar of England and became part of Scotland in the tenth century. Haddington received burghal status, one of the earliest to do so, during the reign of David I, giving it trading rights which encouraged its growth into a market town.
  Today Haddington is a small town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people; although during the High Middle Ages, it was the fourth-biggest city in Scotland after Aberdeen, Roxburgh and Edinburgh. In the middle of the town is the Town House, built in 1748 according to a plan by William Adam.
context_section_description: An account of the parish of Haddington was drawn up by the Rev. Dr. Barclay, and published by the Society of Scottish Antiquaries in 1785. James Miller published Lamp of Lothian a history of Haddington in 1844. A new edition  was reprinted in 1900 under the name Lamp of Lothian: or, the history of Haddington, in connection with the Public Affairs of East Lothian and of Scotland, from the earliest records to 1844. A goat appears on the seal and on the coat of arms of Haddington. John Martine wrote Reminiscences of the royal burgh of Haddington and old East Lothian agriculturists in 1883.
   Before 1139 - Haddington granted burgh charters, transferred to Ada de Warenne, as a marriage portion, by her father-in-law David I in that year.
  1178 – Cistercian abbey founded by Countess Ada.  St Martin's Kirk in the Nungate built around or before this year; the oldest standing building in Haddington today.
  1198 – King Alexander II of Scotland is born in Haddington.
  1216 – Haddington is burnt by the English under King John. Scottish royal family vacate the Palace of Haddington.
  1242 - Murder of Padraig, Earl of Atholl following a tournament in the town, by members of Clan Bissett.
  1244 – Haddington is burnt again. Barclay relates that on "the same night in which Haddington was burned, Stirling, Roxburgh, Lanark, Perth, Forfar, Montrose, and Aberdeen, all underwent the same fate."
  1282 – First mention of a bridge spanning the Tyne.
  1297 - Haddington burnt by the retreating Scots army.
  1356 - The town is sacked by the army of Edward III of England. It is now known as the burnt Candlemas.
  1358 – Flood reportedly washes away the Nungate.
  1375 – Work begins on rebuilding St Mary's – in Garvald red sandstone.
  1429 – King's Wall surrounding town is mentioned. Implies early if not continuous fortification of the town.
  1462 – Work on the building of  St Mary's Church is completed.
  1548 – 7 July – Signing of the Treaty of Haddington. This was a treaty made during the English occupation of the town. The Scottish Parliament convened in the Abbey and agreed to transport Mary Queen of Scots to France for her marriage to the French heir.
  1598 - Haddington burnt again. This time by a careless maidservant drying clothes overnight by a fire.
  1676 – The ‘Ancient Fraternity of Gardeners of East Lothian’ is established – the oldest such fraternity known.
  1688 – John Gray founds a town library.
  1748 – Haddington's new Town Hall is built; to a design of William Adam
  1770 –  Episcopal Church built in Church Street.
  1775 – 4 October – Tyne reportedly rises seventeen feet above its ordinary level.
  1817 – Building of the Waterloo Bridge near the Poldrate Mill. The foundation stone was laid on the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, hence the naming of the bridge.
  1830 – Spire added to the tower of the Town Hall.
  1831 – First outbreak of cholera asphyxia in Scotland recorded at Haddington
  1846 – 22 June – Haddington's railway station opens to the public.
  1854 – Building of the Corn Exchange. This is reputedly the second largest Corn Exchange in Scotland, after Edinburgh.
  1862 – Catholic church of St. Mary is built to a design of E. W. Pugin.
  1941 – 3 March – German bombers damage town.
  1948 – 6 to 12 August – Flood damages town. Much of the town underwater.
  1949 – 5 December – Closure of Haddington's railway station to the public.
  1973 – Completion of the re-roofing of the choir & renovation of St Mary's Church. This part of the church was damaged during the siege of Haddington (1547–1549) and left ruinous when the church was restored following the siege.
  On 5 September 1618 a debt collector from Edinburgh, Thomas Allan, was attacked by Isobel Addington and 60 or 80 other women who beat him and then dragged him by the feet out of her house.
caption: Haddington's Coat of Arms
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