Red Note At The Granary

The Parish of Whittingehame contains several of East Lothian’s finest Victorian farm steadings. Eastfield was the smallest farm on Whittingehame estate, originally owned by the Balfour family (the most famous of whom, Arthur Balfour, was Prime Minister from 1902-1905).

Built to replace the Home Farm, this early example of a quadrangular steading of the ‘improvement’ period was constructed in 1850 to a design from the office of William Burn and David Bryce, and rebuilt in 1880 to form a model steading under one roof - unique in Scotland.

The steading comprised the dairy; two byres; a stable for ten horses; two cattle courts for feeding cattle; and numerous pens or loose boxes for cattle; the threshing mill; straw barns; two granaries; two haylofts and three other small lofts for storage.

There was also the dairyman's cottage and dairymaid's cottage, all combined within one building. The farm supplied the mansion house with milk, butter, eggs and meat, which at that time was slaughtered on the farm. It ceased to operate in 1990.

In about 2001, the steading was converted into two houses. The 1879 covered cattle court was removed, recreating the original courtyard space and making it into a garden.