The eleven circular kiln foundations here at Prestongrange are all that remain of the kilns and workshops which produced bricks, chimney pots, drainage pipes, outdoor garden urns and fountains for the building trade.
On the shore at Morison's Haven, where damaged and imperfect pieces were discarded, remnants can still be found. These include shards of domestic crockery - mainly bowls, cups, plates and small jars; pieces of round earthenware saggars, which held pottery in the kiln; and numerous three-legged clay stilts or 'craws' taes', which separated the pieces of ware in the saggars.
In the early eighteenth century all the required resources for pottery production were readily available: clay from Upper Birslie Plantation; coal from Prestongrange and Elphinstone; water power and a working harbour at Morison's Haven. The harbour gave easy access to markets at a time when road transport was slow, inefficient and expensive.
The favourable conditions did not last. The clay deposits ran out, and clay became more expensive; silt accumulated in Morison's Haven; and increased foreign competition meant reduced demand for Scottish pottery.
In the nineteenth century, the main potteries of William Cadell & Company, West Pans, R. & G. Gordon and Belfield & Company were all in close proximity along the coastline between Prestonpans and Musselburgh. The potteries were sited away from residential areas because of atmospheric pollution from the kilns.
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