Fisher Lass, Dunbar, c1900

"Preserving & presenting East Lothian's heritage."

East Lothian Museums Service collects and preserves the evidence of the county's past, for the education and enjoyment of today’s and future generations.

Our collections range from social history to fine art, and from stone age flints to great industrial machines. They include trades banners and costume; the oldest recorded gannet; the civic regalia of the old burghs of East Lothian; and a Cornish beam engine, unique in Scotland.

The Service is based in Haddington, and mounts exhibitions and events throughout East Lothian.

Visit our museums at Dunbar and Prestongrange and explore East Lothian's rich heritage.

Find out about our exhibition and events programme, our digitisation projects and check out our on-line exhibitions.

John Gray Centre

The John Gray Centre is a new building which will house the Haddington branch library, the East Lothian local history centre, a museum and exhibition space, and the East Lothian archives. The Centre will be created in converted listed buildings on Lodge Street in Haddington.

A ‘Stage One Pass’ for a grant of £1.39m from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Centre was announced in April. Now you have a chance to shape the future of the Centre by taking part in our ongoing consultation process.

You can complete our questionnaire via the following methods:

• Online
• At a local library (To find your nearest, visit the East Lothian libraries homepage)
• At Prestongrange Museum
• By visiting our stall at events throughout the summer (See our consultation page for details)

The closing date for submitting questionnaires is 31st August 2008.

North Berwick & Musselburgh: Museum Consultation

Consultants working on the North Berwick and Musselburgh Museum proposals are now drafting their final report which will then be given to Councillors. From this, it will be decided which options should have feasibility studies carried out for each venue.

Collections and Access Policies

The Museums Service Collections Policy and Access Policy were approved by East Lothian Council in August 2005. The Collections Policy sets out our remit in terms of collecting as well as setting guidelines for recording, conserving and securing the collections. The Access Policy shows how we plan to make the collections, and information about the collections, available to the public and researchers through exhibitions, activities, publications and events. Copies of both policies can also be downloaded from eastlothianmuseums.org in Word format.

Download the Prestongrange audio tour for your mp3 player

You can now download the audio tour of Prestongrange Museum, narrated by Port Seton-born artist John Bellany, for use on your own mp3 player!

Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control, North Berwick Museum is currently closed to the public for safety reasons.