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 Approach to the Kirk |
The main A198 road bypasses the village of Dirleton about two miles west of North Berwick. This keeps the through traffic out, and does much to enhance the extremely attractive atmosphere of a beautiful village built around its village green.
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Dirleton Castle dates back to the late 1200s and there was probably a settlement of sorts beyond the castle walls from an early date. But the origins of modern Dirleton date back to the redevelopment of the castle in the 1400s by the Halyburton family.
 Dirleton Kirk |
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 Kirk Interior |
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 Wall of the Castle Garden |
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A map drawn in 1600s certainly shows a village here by then. And Dirleton Kirk, standing at the head of a northern extension to the village green, was built in 1612 to replace a church from the 1100s that had been inundated by sand at Gullane. The imposing cross aisle was added to Dirleton Kirk in 1650 and is said to be the earliest example of neo-classical architecture in Scotland.
In 1663 Dirleton Castle and its estate was acquired by the Nisbet family. They abandoned the castle as a residence and built a large new mansion, Archerfield House, to the north west of the village. The name of the site dated back to its use as a practice ground for Edward I's archers. Dirleton continued to grow, now lying between the castle and the Archerfield Estate.
In 1849 Dirleton gained a railway station, albeit in open country over a mile to the south east of the village on the North Berwick line. The station, though not the line, was closed in 1954. By 1869 the Castle Inn was in business, overlooking the main village green: in that year a meeting held at the Inn agreed the formation of the Archerfield Golf Club.
Today's Dirleton remains a highly attractive village of attractive cottages and more substantial houses gathered around the main village green and its extension towards the Kirk. The Castle Inn continues to provide a draw to visitors, and the Open Arms Hotel sits on the north side of the green looking towards the castle and its gardens.
Archerfield House has been less well treated then the castle it replaced. It was extensively rebuilt in 1733, and Robert Adam remodelled the interior in 1790. There's an oft-told story that in the 1940s the house was the location of a meeting between Winston Churchill and US President Roosevelt to plan the D-Day landings, but this seem to be a myth: the US Embassy in London say that President Roosevelt never visted the UK. By the 1950s Archerfield had ceased to be used as a house, and in 1962 the then owner stripped out the interior and knocked a hole in the structure to allow him to install a grain dryer inside.
Thirty years of dereliction followed, despite sporadic plans by various developers for leisure development of the estate. But in February 2002 planning permission was granted for a major redevelopment of the 500 acre estate including golf courses, a luxury hotel and housing, and work has since been under way to turn this into reality. The impact of this on the surrounding area, and Dirleton in particular, is significant: but compared to a previous generation's efforts to turn a grand mansion into a grain dryer, the developments now appearing on the ground can only be a change for the better.
 Archerfield House |
