Bridge Street

Tranent is the oldest coalmining town in Scotland, and lies on the main trunk road from Scotland to England, some 10 miles east of Edinburgh and 7 miles west of Haddington.

Bridge Street forms part of this trunk road and leads westwards towards the Brig Inn, the Tranent Co-operative Society store and to Edinburgh Road. The central building in this view is the general grocer's shop which stands at the Y-junction whose left fork takes the road down New Row and on to Elphinstone. Mostly private residential developments are found on the west of the town, built around Polson Public Park.

The park extends to about 15 acres and is well kept with lawns, shrubs, flowers, a bandstand, a bowling green, tennis courts and football pitches. It was gifted to the town in 1911 by Mrs Polson, widow of John Polson of Paisley, of the firm of Brown & Polson, cornflour manufacturers. He died at his home in Gourock on 10th August 1900. He owned a considerable amount of land around Tranent and had assisted in the burgh water scheme, the demolition of slum property, the erection of fountain at Winton Place, the granting of a site for the Town Hall and generally clearing off the debt on the Town Hall building.