The hawthorn tree

In the years which followed the battle, the main marker-point on the battlefield was the solitary hawthorn tree beneath which Colonel Gardiner had fallen. It appeared in engravings, paintings, and early photographs (left), whilst cuttings were often taken as souvenirs. As it died this venerable three-trunked tree was propped up with iron rods, but its remains finally blew down in the 1920s. Pieces of the original tree can be found in the stores of the National War Museum and the East Lothian Council Museums Service. The only piece visible on display is that belonging to the Battle of Prestonpans (1745) Heritage Trust, which can be found at The Prestoungrange Gothenburg. The tree also features on the Trust’s logo. 

The 1745 cairn

After the Thorntree blew down, there was nothing to mark the location of the battlefield. In 1932, the Society for the Preservation of Rural Scotland therefore erected a large stone cairn to act as the main location marker for the battlefield (top right). It was designed by the architect William Davidson, and its inscription simply reads “1745”. When local children uncovered a few bones in the nearby field in the early 1950s, the remains were re-interred next to the cairn at well-attended ceremony.  The cairn stands beside the junction leading to the Battlefield Viewpoint.

The thorntree monument

In 1998, as housing expanded onto the extreme west of the battlefield, a further monument was erected. This marked the approximate location of Colonel Gardiner’s last stand – the site of the lost thorntree. Carved by Borders-based artist Michelle de Bruin, the Thorntree Monument take the form of a modest triangular pillar with carved text on one face and hawthorn designs on the others stands. It stands beside a children’s playpark off Preston Crescent.

The Colonel Gardiner Monument

The largest monument on the battlefield stands in the grounds of Bankton House. The Colonel Gardiner Monument is a stone obelisk guarded by four reclining lions, and it was erected in 1853 by public subscription. It symbolises the resurgence of interest in Gardiner and the battle which followed their inclusion in Walter Scott’s novel Waverley. The monument can be visited on foot and is easily visible from the railway line, as its builders had intended. With Gardiner’s former home as its backdrop, along with the mighty trees which once formed the entrance avenue avenue to it, the obelisk is a favourite location for battlefield visitors. It is a short walk from the Bankton Doocot.

The memorial tables

In 2018 the Trust installed two new monuments on the battlefield. These memorial tables list the regiments and clans which fought at the battle, dedicated to those who fell in the fighting. They sit on the historic waggonway which runs through the western part of the battlefield, in the area where many of those who died met their end. The memorial tables were carved by local mason Gardner Molloy to designs by former chairman of the Trust and local resident Gareth Jones. Their form was inspired by the altar-style graves monuments which can be found in churchyards around the county.

Dedication ceremonies were held after their installation, with guests including descendants of the clan chiefs who led the Jacobites in battle. The British army was represented by the Governor of Edinburgh Castle.