Inveresk
Inveresk (Gaelic: Inbhir Easg) is a civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland, that includes the former burgh of Musselburgh. It is named after the village that now forms the southern part of the town, and which is situated on slightly elevated ground. This ridge of ground, 20 to 25 metres above sea level, was used by the Romans as the location for a fort in the second century AD.[1]
It is on the north bank of the River Esk. The element "Inver", from the Gaelic inbhir, refers to a confluence, presumably of the river Esk with the Firth of Forth (cf "Aberlady" which contains "Abe-" the Brythonic equivalent).
Inveresk is notable for its fine street of 17th and 18th century houses. Inveresk Lodge is now privately leased, but the adjacent Inveresk Lodge Garden belongs to the National Trust for Scotland, and its west facing gardens overlooking the river Esk are open to the public. This was formerly the mansion of James Wedderburn who had made his fortune as a slave-owning sugar plantation owner in Jamaica. When his son by one of his slaves, Robert Wedderburn, travelled to Inveresk to claim his kinship he was insultingly rejected by his father who gave him some small beer and a broken or bent sixpence. This experience turned Robert Wedderburn to radicalism.
[edit] Notable persons
- James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl, buried here
[edit] References
- ^ Burnet,JEM (1999) A reason for Inveresk. Courtyard Press, Inveresk. ISBN 0 9537450 0 7
Coordinates: 55°56′12″N 3°02′48″W / 55.9366°N 3.0468°W
 |
This East Lothian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
