Elly
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Post by Elly on Jul 7, 2006 4:17:50 GMT 10
Thanks Neil, for the great information and photos, its just great #ssmile#
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Post by neil6147 on Jul 7, 2006 7:59:05 GMT 10
Hi Jude I do not think you will get to see as much by horse back during your trip to Scotland. But if I see two people on horse back with the suitcases tied to the horse I will know it is you and your other half on Holiday.
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Post by roper on Jul 8, 2006 4:12:39 GMT 10
Hi Jude I do not think you will get to see as much by horse back during your trip to Scotland. But if I see two people on horse back with the suitcases tied to the horse I will know it is you and your other half on Holiday. #happy# #happy# #happy# #happy# #happy#
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Post by desertrose on Jul 14, 2006 19:23:58 GMT 10
Hey Rose thanks for the vote of confidence I think riding horses may be easier than driving on the other side of the road tho #happy# Jude! Really and truly! Fred said there was no problem driving on the "wrong side of the road." LOL sorry Neil, just giving you a hard time! Fred got the hang of driving on the other side of the road very quickly and feel you will too. Gosh! If anybody can ride a dang gone horse, they can drive a car on the left side. I sure wish I could ride a horse. I need a wrangler who can guarantee me that the horse is not gong to throw me off first though! I am such a coward!
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Post by roper on Jul 15, 2006 0:29:40 GMT 10
Hi Rose, I will be your wrangler if you like, well cowgirl any way ;D Neil is such a nice guy, i knew he was teasing, dont think he could be mean if he tried
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Elly
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Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Jul 15, 2006 12:05:45 GMT 10
Quite agree Roper, I just bet he is a bit of a devil but in a nice way #sneak# #laugh#
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Post by neil6147 on Jul 16, 2006 4:51:59 GMT 10
A £5 MILLION national visitor centre is being planned by community leaders to safeguard a historic Lothians battleground.
The centre, which would be similar to the one at Culloden, would be built on the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, in East Lothian.
The plans would see the construction of a new "interpretation centre" and the site restored to how it was during the battle.
The area has been identified as one of the most endangered battle sites in Scotland. Currently, it is marked by a small plaque, with no signs from the nearby A1.
But campaigners say the farmed field, where troops led by Bonnie Prince Charlie routed the army loyal to King George II during the second Jacobite rising, should have a permanent centre. The plans are being led by Dr Gordon Prestoungrange, the Baron of Prestoungrange. The full details are expected to be revealed in September.
Dr Prestoungrange said they had still not looked at how to fund the project but suggested a ball-park figure of £5m.
He pointed out that the Culloden Battlefield Memorial Centre is currently undergoing a £7m redevelopment and has received money from the Scottish Executive and European Rural Development Fund. The Prestonpans project may also look at applying for National Lottery funding.
Earlier this year Alexander Bennett, the Culloden project's co-ordinator, visited the former coal-mining village and offered advice on their plans.
Dr Prestoungrange said
: "It's just too important to the nation to be left unmarked, or worse, to be destroyed by further development.
"By September 21, the battle's 261st anniversary, we will have a major plan for a year-round interpretation centre on the site. We want to get lots of visitors who will come along and enjoy the interpretation centre.
"We also want somewhere where local youngsters can come and learn about what happened their doorstep."
Dr Prestoungrange said nine Highland chieftains, whose clans took part in the battle, had agreed to be patrons from the project.
He added: "The battle is unanimously viewed as an event of great importance, not only in the '45 campaign but also in demonstrating many human virtues and aspirations. The significance was huge. It was not just a nine-minute battle but showed Bonnie Prince Charlie was heading south."
The battlefield lies on land owned by local farmers and ScottishPower, which owns nearby Cockenzie Power Station.
Local historian Peter MacKenzie said: "The battle plays a major role in Scottish literature and it is important we recognise this."
The project will now seek the backing of the local authority conservation groups and the Executive. Prestonpans Community Council and East Lothian Provost Pat O'Brien, who is the local councillor, are behind the project.
A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: "If at any point the people behind this want to speak to Historic Scotland our area teams will be happy to hear from them or meet with them."
A report by the UK Battlefield Trust for Historic Scotland at the end of 2005 identified Prestonpans as one of the most endangered battle sites in Scotland.
The site was also featured in the 2005 BBC series Battlefield Britain.
The facts The Battle of Prestonpans, on September 21, 1745, was the first significant conflict in the second Jacobite Rising.
The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie - defeated a largely inexperienced army loyal to George II and led by Sir John Cope.
Having taken Edinburgh with little or no fighting five days before, Charles' army met Cope's forces at Prestonpans.
At the crack of dawn, 1400 Highlanders charged and Cope's forces fled.
The battle was over in five minutes with hundreds of Cope's troops killed or wounded and 1500 captured. The Highlanders suffered only around 100 dead or wounded.
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Post by neil6147 on Jul 17, 2006 6:37:40 GMT 10
Hello I was passing the Battle Of Prestonpans Site today and stopped to take a couple of Photos. This is the only local reference to this great battle back in 1745. And I think a visitor centre is a very good idea for the area. I think you shall agree the date on this monument tells you nothing. This is looking across the main road towards the field where the Battle Of Prestonpans 1745 took place. I hope the pictures I have taken migh explain more for the fight to get a proper Visitor Centre for this battle.
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Post by dreamy on Jul 17, 2006 7:12:32 GMT 10
Your pics explain it much better than the text "only", Neil! Now I have an idea of what it is all about and how it looks like at the moment. Yes, you're very right; it makes sense to get a visitor center there. Thank you once again for taking the time to post the pics and to comment them. It's very much appreciated!
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Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Jul 17, 2006 13:31:14 GMT 10
Yes thanks Neil, do hope they are successful in developing a visitors' centre, put some of the lottery money to more good use, thanks for the photos and explaining it all.
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Post by desertrose on Jul 20, 2006 21:22:47 GMT 10
Neil! Thanks so much for posting the photo. I honestly had not seen that monument before. I know personally that some Scots are against the visitor center, but I think it is very important to educate folks of the past, no matter if they are related to the soldiers or not. But I bet those who are, will really appreciate this. Just my feeling anyway. Many thanks!
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Post by neil6147 on Sept 23, 2006 0:15:51 GMT 10
We have just came over this information regards the Battle Of Prestonpans which I think you might be interested in reading.
THE proposed £7.5 million visitor centre to commemorate the Battle of Prestonpans would be built in a dilapidated coal bing, under plans unveiled today.
Architects have revealed an innovative blueprint including a pyramid-style roof, four imposing entrances and a raised walkway across the battlefield.
The Battle of Prestonpans Heritage Trust also wants to recreate the battle, using life-sized models of Highlanders and Redcoats and bleak fields of corn-stubble.
Gordon Prestoungrange, the Baron of Prestoungrange, has been heavily involved in the development of the proposals.
He said: "The plans are brilliant. It's a very imaginative design and I couldn't be more pleased with what we have so far."
He said the next stage was to draw up a feasibility study and he believes the centre, which the trust estimates would attract up to 250,000 visitors a year, could be built within five years.
The plans were drawn up by architect Gareth Jones, who lives locally and worked for free.
Mr Jones, who works for the Pollock Hammond Partnership in Linlithgow, came up with the idea of incorporating the coal bing.
Local historian Peter McKenzie, one of the founders of the trust, said:
"We're hoping that not only will the battle itself be recreated, using mannequins, but also commemorate what was the start of the industrial revolution. The railway that carried coal from Tranent to Cockenzie at the time of the battle was one of the first in Britain. We want to show all of this."
The next step in the campaign is to raise the £250,000 needed for a full-scale feasibility study, Mr Prestoungrange said.
"In December we are going to Derby to hold our next meeting, but unlike Bonnie Prince Charlie, we're not going to stop there. We going to go all the way to London. Then we will be able to get started raising the millions needed." He said he was confident the £250,000 could be in place by spring, adding: "Then we can get started with the bigger plans. If all goes well it should be completed in five years."
The campaign has attracted many supporters. Actor Brian Cox has lent his weight to the plans, calling Bonnie Prince Charlie's victory at Prestonpans a "defining Scottish moment".
On September 21, 1745, the rebel Highlander army launched a surprise attack on King George II's troops, leaving 800 dead and taking 1500 prisoners.
The victory spurred the Jacobites on and they marched on as far south as Derby before they were eventually forced to retreat.
Neil
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