The Thorntree Monument

During the Battle of Prestonpans fought on 21st September 1745 Colonel Gardiner of Bankton was fatally wounded beneath a hawthorn tree in this area

Jacobite forces led by the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie, fought against government (Hanoverian) troops led by Sir John Cope at the Battle of Prestonpans on 21 September 1745; the Jacobites won a decisive victory, which boosted their campaign in Scotland and led to the capture of Edinburgh. Colonel Gardiner of Bankton was killed under a hawthorn tree during the battle, later marked by the Thorntree Monument.