Prestongrange Museum

Prestongrange Museum, set on the edge of Musselburgh, is one of East Lothian’s most fascinating industrial heritage sites. Spread across a former coal mine, pottery works, brickworks and glassworks, it tells the story of 800 years of labour and innovation. Its open‑air layout makes it feel more like an industrial village than a traditional museum, with atmospheric buildings scattered across a wooded landscape. Inside the visitor centre, exhibitions introduce Prestongrange’s long history, from medieval monastic coal extraction to the rise of heavy industry. Models, tools and archival photographs reveal how the site evolved and how generations of workers shaped the local community. One of the most interesting features is the preserved beam engine house, where a massive 19th‑century pumping engine once kept the mine dry; its scale and engineering detail remain impressive even in silence. You can also explore the Hoffman kiln, a vast circular brick kiln whose echoing chambers create an unforgettable experience. The old workshops, pottery buildings and railway remnants add further layers, showing how different industries overlapped on the same site. Walking between structures, with interpretive panels guiding the way, offers a vivid sense of Prestongrange as a place where technology, craft and hard labour intertwined for centuries.