I remember my\nfather being involved in an earlier renovation of the doocot. He drew\nup plans (being an architect) that were presumably required for\nplanning permission. My father in law was a supporter of this charity\nas are my husband and I. This has all been made possible for us by\nthe volunteers who had the vision for the initial project and the\nstamina to keep it all going over the years. I would therefore like\nto share with you the press release details released last week for\nthe latest refurbishment of the site. If you have never visited the\nsite you should try and do so if you are in this part of Scotland. A\nlovely and peaceful experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Scottish Flag Trust aims to\nraise \u00a3100,000 through crowdfunded donations, and individual and\ncorporate donations from Scots across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The St Andrew\u2019s Cross or Saltire\nis Scotland\u2019s national flag. Tradition has it that the flag, the\nwhite saltire on a blue background, the oldest flag in Europe\noriginated in a battle fought in East Lothian, near the village of\nAthelstaneford in the Dark Ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today the flag flies proudly all\nyear round from the Saltire Memorial in Athelstaneford parish church\nto celebrate this special connection. The history of the battle and\nthe adoption of the Saltire as the symbol of Scotland is told in the\nFlag Heritage Centre through a unique audio visual presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commenting David Williamson, Chair\nof the Scottish Flag Trust said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Saltire is a welcoming symbol\nfor all Scots whether they are Scots by birth, by choice or through\ntheir family roots. The Saltire memorial and Flag Heritage Centre\ncelebrate the connection Athelstaneford and East Lothian has as the\nBirthplace of the Saltire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur new fundraising programme\naims to restore and renew this unique visitor attraction so that more\npeople can learn about the history of Scotland\u2019s national flag\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.crowdfunder.co.uk\/saltire<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Scottish Flag Trust is a\nregistered Scottish charity which maintains the Saltire Memorial and\nthe Flag Heritage Centre at Athelstaneford and promotes the proper\nuse of the Saltire. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The restoration and renewal project\nwill see a new accessible pathway with interpretive timeline telling\nthe history and adoption of Scotland’s national flag from 834AD to\nthe present. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n New landscaping and engraved paving\naround the Saltire Memorial will tell the story of St Andrew’s and\nScot’s societies across the globe. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new immersive audio-visual\nexperience telling the story of the Battle of Athelstaneford and the\ncreation and adoption of Scotland’s national flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reharling of the 16th Century\nlectern doocot which houses the Flag Heritage Centre will maintain\nthis important historic building and keep it safe for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The St Andrew\u2019s Cross or Saltire\nis Scotland\u2019s national flag. Tradition has it that the flag, the\nwhite saltire on a blue background, the oldest flag in Europe and the\nCommonwealth, originated in a battle fought in East Lothian in the\nDark Ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is believed that the battle took\nplace in the year 832AD. An army of Picts under Angus mac Fergus,\nHigh King of Alba, and aided by a contingent of Scots led by Eochaidh\n(Kenneth mac Alpin\u2019s grandfather) had been on a punitive raid into\nLothian (then and for long afterwards Northumbrian territory), and\nwere being pursued by a larger force of Angles and Saxons under one\nAthelstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Albannach\/Scots were caught and\nstood to face their pursuers in the area of Markle, near East Linton.\nThis is to the north of the modern village of Athelstaneford (which\nwas resited on higher ground in the 18th century), where the Peffer,\nwhich flows into the Firth of Forth at Aberlady forms a wide vale.\nBeing then wholly undrained, the Peffer presented a major obstacle to\ncrossing and the two armies came together at the ford near the\npresent-day farm of Prora (one of the field names there is still the\nBloody Lands).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fearing the outcome of the\nencounter, King Angus led prayers for deliverance and was rewarded by\nseeing a cloud formation of a white saltire (the diagonal cross on\nwhich St Andrew had been martyred) against a blue sky. The king vowed\nthat if, with the saint\u2019s help, he gained the victory, then Andrew\nwould thereafter be the patron saint of Scotland. The Scots did win,\nand the Saltire became the flag of Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Kenneth mac Alpin, who may have\nbeen present with his grandfather at the battle, later united Picts\nand Scots and named the entity Scotland, Andrew did indeed become the\npatron saint of the united realm. Kenneth mac Alpin, King of Scots\nand Picts, Ard-righ Albainn, was laid to rest on Iona in 860AD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I remember my father being involved in an earlier renovation of the doocot. He drew up plans (being an architect) that were presumably required for planning permission. My father in law was a supporter of this charity as are my husband and I. This has all been made possible for us by the volunteers who had the vision for the initial project and the stamina to keep it all going over the years. I would therefore like to share with you the press release details released last week for the latest refurbishment of the site. If you have never visited the site you should tryRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scotsindependent.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Restoration and renewal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Legend of the Saltire<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n