Ormiston

Parish Representative:
Denise Brydon

Introduction

Ormiston is one of the most westerly – and oddly-shaped – of the county’s parishes. Bounded to the west by Midlothian, it covers some 1396 ha (3450 acres), with two ‘arms’ curling protectively round neighbouring Pencaitland. Historic Ormiston village is situated in the north of the parish, on one of the ‘arms’ of land, separated from the remaining part of the parish by the upper reaches of the river Tyne. It seems that most of the parish population was centred on the village throughout the period of this account; while there is a cluster of 16 homes now at Ormiston Hall; there are no other settlements of any size in the parish.

Main street, Ormiston, 1979

Main street, Ormiston, 1979

Located on the B3459 road, which leads from Tranent and out of the village to Pencaitland, entry to Ormiston is by the impressive tree-lined Main Street planned (as was the village) by John Cockburn, Lord Justice Clerk, in the early 18th century. The history of the village plays an important part in its character with it changing from an agricultural centre to a mining village and recently – in common with many East Lothian villages – to a commuter habitat for the city of Edinburgh.