The History of Tynepark House
In 1905 the Committee on Social Work, at a cost of £375, purchased a property at “Morham Vale” Haddington, as a ‘Training House for Girls’. The location and facilities however were found to be inadequate, and in 1911, Tynepark, Haddington, was purchased at a cost of £1250 – extract from Haddington “Courier” July 28th 1911 “Mr Binnie has sold the property at Tynepark to the Social Work Committee of the Church of Scotland. A new laundry is to be and the house and grounds used in connection with the social scheme of the Church” – Synopsis of the more interesting points extracted from the ‘Title Deeds’ of Tynepark School. The main building and grounds are divided into two parts are herein described:
(1) All and whole of the house built by Patrick Begbie with garden and small field to west thereof now known as Tynepark (described in former deeds as three tenements of land, yard and butts adjacent thereto) lying contiguous within the liberties of the Burgh of Haddington in that part called Poldrate and sometime – bounded by James Lauder’s property and now or formerly by the Roman Catholic Church on the north, by Byer’s Orchard on the east, by the Mill Dam, or Lade of the one-time Haddington’s East Mill commonly called Malt Mill on the south and by the High Street of Poldrate on the west.
(2) All and whole that croft of land commonly called “Byer’s Orchard” and now a grass park lying immediately to the east of the above property and enclosed on the north by the churchyard of Haddington.
The oldest title deed held by the Church of Scotland is dated 1827. However, there is among the title deeds a list of the older title deeds from which it is possible to glean a little more about the history of the property. Originally, there were two adjoining properties, which were owned separately. The earliest title mention is in 1707 when the owner of the one property was a James Smith as heir of his father William Smith, and his grandfather James Smith. The property then passed to his nephew, another James Smith. In 1745 the property was still held by the Smith family and was acquired by William Dickson, a dyer from Edinburgh. From him and his wife it passed in 1755 to a Walter Paterson a gardener at Inverary. His son Captain Daniel Paterson next owned it and sold it by public auction for £460 to George Mylne, a farmer in 1793. Five years later, George Mylne acquired the adjoining property which had belonged to the Watson family and before that to Charles Lauder and his family, who apparently had to sell it to the Watsons’ when the family fell on hard times.
In 1813 George Mylne sold both properties to a Miss Margaret Anderson of Greenside Place, Edinburgh, and sometime between 1813 and 1827, the property was acquired by Patrick Begbie who built the present house. This was then bought by Miss Jane Lindsay of Eagles Cairnie. She, however, died before her title could be recorded and the property therefore transferred to her sisters, Catherine, Lady Blantyre, and Mrs. Janet Anderson. The estate then passed to Catherine’s son, Robert Walter, Lord Blantyre, and he immediately sold it to Captain James Wilkie a Royal Navy Commander, for £1850. After his death the property passed to his son David Wilkie, a minister of the Church who sold it in 1833, to his brother John, for £1500. It then passed to John Wilkie’s nephew who sold it in 1884 by public auction to David McNiven for £900 only. David seems to have got himself into debt, particularly to his brother John and in 1893 he transferred the property to John in repayment of his debts to him. John then emigrated to Bung Bong, Victoria, Australia, and from there to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. From there he gave orders for the property to be sold up. In 1895 it was acquired by Mrs Helen Binnie, the wife of Mark Binnie, a Haddington brewer for £1325. Finally in 1911 the property was acquired by the Trustees of the Church of Scotland Committee on Social Work for £1250.
David McManus
Acknowledgement to Margaret Gillan