Prestonpans 270th Anniversary

Battle raged across the Greenhills park in Prestonpans last weekend, as Prestonpans 1745 commemorated its 270th anniversary.

The event also marked the 9th consecutive year of re-enactments for the battle, and the 20th anniversary of the influential first one in 1995. It was bittersweet though, as the battle will now go into a triennial cycle with Dunbar 1650 and Pinkie 1547 - the next major re-enactment in Prestonpans will be in 2018.

Participants were therefore determined to go out with a bang, and spectacular the battles certainly were. The dragoons put up far more fight than they did in 1745, but the Highland Charge was just as effective as it needed to be. Prince Charlie was gracious in victory, Johnnie Cope suitably dignified in defeat - even if he did make sure he was suitably safe from the broadswords!

A wreath was laid on the anniversary morning, Monday 21st, and a new short film imagining how Charles Edward felt after his victory was premiered at Loretto School in the evening. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVqaORP_eV4

All in all, a fitting and dramatic commemoration of an important and exciting battle.

In other Prestonpans news, the community's Coastal Regeneration Alliance and the Battle of Prestonpans (1745) Heritage Trust are continuing their hard fight to prevent key parts of the battlefield from being sold off for industrial development. They've applied for Community Right to Buy, and the SBT is right behind their efforts.