Scotland · Partial ruin
Preston Tower
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in Prestonpans, East Lothian, built in medieval times with significant additions in the early 17th century. The tower is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is now under the guardianship of East Lothian Council.
Its prime
1626
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1626
What Preston Tower looked like in its prime.
A compact L-plan stone keep of medieval origin, originally four storeys with two additional storeys built above the parapet in 1626. Constructed of red-brown rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings, a corbel table runs beneath the parapet; lower levels have narrow slit and small rectangular windows while the added upper storeys show larger rectangular Renaissance windows carved with the initials "SIDKH". The tower sits directly behind a low rubble boundary wall opening on to a small grassed forecourt in the village.
Its story
The story of Preston Tower.
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in Prestonpans, East Lothian, standing within a few metres of two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House. Preston passed by marriage to the "haughty Hamiltons" at the close of the fourteenth century, and the tower remained with the family for the next three hundred years.
The tower was burnt by the Earl of Hertford on 16 May 1544, following the burning of Edinburgh during the Rough Wooing, and burnt again by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 — this time with the loss of the family records. Significant additions had been made to the medieval keep in the early seventeenth century.
One of the family was the noted Covenanter Robert Hamilton, a commander at the battles of Drumclog and Bothwell Brig; the Hamiltons were forfeited in 1684, though they recovered the property in the nineteenth century. The tower now belongs to the National Trust for Scotland, under the guardianship of East Lothian Council.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1626.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Preston Tower — including 1 interior: pit-prison (basement dungeon). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Preston Tower with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1626 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Preston Tower.
The families that held Preston Tower for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Held by the Hamiltons from the close of the 14th century; forfeited 1684, recovered in the 19th century.
Nearby
