Stenton – A Small Town With Lots To See
Stenton, which means Stone town, is a beautiful village found in the East Lothian district, in Scotland. Stenton is not far from towns like Dunbar and East Linton, which are just a couple of kilometers away. This picturesque village has all the basic facilities like shops, post office and a primary school used by the residents here, including a bowling green.
Stenton goes back to the 1500’s where it was, and still is, an agricultural village made up of large pieces of farmland. Ever since 1681 Stenton has been agriculturally inclined, focusing mainly on cattle and sheep, which were sold at the markets held every week. If you head on over to the East Green you will see the remnants of items, like scales and Mercat Posts, that were used in these farming markets.
In 1969 Stenton village was given the grading of an Outstanding Conservation Area due to the village’s history and its well-preserved buildings and architecture that can still be appreciated till today. A lot of these lovely old buildings have been built using sandstone with a lovely mauve coloring and roofs tiled with orange pantiles that were also often used for paving.
Like in many of these small villages you will always find a cathedral or church of some sort where many of the locals gather to worship. Here in Stenton there is the Gothic Parish Church, which was built in 1829 by a gentleman by the name of William Burn. The Parish Church has some of the finest stained glass windows from the late 19th century of various scenes.
Stenton Gallery provides art lovers and visitors a great opportunity to admire art works and crafts from around the country. Opposite the Gallery is the 18th century Mitchell’s house, which was originally made up of two separate buildings. One side of the building was a milk business that would deliver all the residents with their daily milk requirements and the other side was a schoolroom.
A visit to both the Rushlaw House, which dates back to the 17th Century and the Whittingehame House, which was more recently built in the 19th Century is a must. In the mid-nineteenth century through to the mid-twentieth century these two buildings were home to Arthur Balfour, the British Prime Minister during that time, and his family.
