Now - East Lothian Council

Law & Order
Horrid tales of dark deeds and punishments have always held a certain
fascination. Volumes of court books for towns across the county will be
returned - no doubt revealing fantastic stories of crime and punishment.
Extract from Haddington Burgh
Criminal Court Book, NAS B30/11,
1747. In this entry Mary Collins
was found guilty of stealing a
piece of pork. She was
sentenced to be carried to the
tron and stand in the jugs with a
piece of paper on her breast with
the words ‘Art and Part guilty of
theft’. She was then to be
drummed out of the town—if
she ever returned she was to be
imprisoned and whipped!
Punishment for offences was not just dealt out by the courts but the kirk had a
strong blame culture too and many parishioners found themselves up before the
kirk session for offences they had committed. The records show that the most
common ‘crime’ was fornication. The ‘jougs’ or metal collar displayed as the
background to this panel come from the old parish church in Kirk Ports, North
Berwick. Those who offended the kirk session would wear the collar which was
attached to the church wall.
Early attempts to create national
defence forces saw a strong volunteer
movement in Scotland. The resultant
volumes of muster rolls include not
only the names and occupations of
these volunteers but can commonly
include a physical description. After
1797 men could be conscripted into the
militia. In cases of conscription families of the men could apply for money
from the government to live off.
Prestonpans Militia Roll, NAS, E457/11/26