"We've gotta find a permanent home for the Prestonpans Tapestry!"

Surely it's unthinkable, the Prestonpans Tapestry being elsewhere rather than in Prestonpans?

Well it has been for the last 4 years. But what with endless discussions and objections including calls for more and more information, impact analyses, conservation studies and re-justification and updating RGA's £15,000 economic feasibility studies by the Battle Trust because they were 'getting dated by the delays' ..... answer is no progress whatever since East Lothian Council's Petitions Committee in January 2010 resolved it was a 'good idea to seek to find it a permanent home at the Prestongrange Heritage Museum'.

To cut a very long story short, as they say, the Trust will be resolving at its 4th Biennial Scottish National Battlefields Symposium in The Pans on October 24th whether it should call it a day ... and quite simply let the tapestry head off to one of the several others who have expressed a serious interest.



Why the economic and tourism impact cannot be appreciated and acted upon from those in office eludes the Trust. However, there is a mood of limited optimism since a LockIn Meeting of one and all has been agreed upon at which all cards will be on the table by all concerned. Either black smoke will emerge and it's Game Over; or here's hoping it's White Smoke and we can all get on with the challenge.

What is the Battle Trust proposing?

It's best summed up in the illustration which Andrew Hillhouse prepared for the Battle trust in 2012 seen below. Most importantly it envisages the rest of the assets at the Museum coming back to life, vigorously, over the coming years to make a multi-visit destination of the Museum. The Battle Trust's Living History Centre would be housed in the old BathHouse with a new circular pavilion built for the tapestry.