Ormiston

Ormiston is Scotland's first planned village, based on the model of an English village it was built in 1735 by John Cockburn, one of the initiators of the Agricultural Revolution. By the late 1800s the town became an important coal-mining centre until mining in the area declined after World War II and the last of Ormiston's pits closed in 1961.

Today's Ormiston is a quiet village with an attractive main street. The town’s landmark in the centre of the main street is Ormiston Cross, thought to date back to the 1400s. The mercat, or market crosses served a variety of functions, one of which was the punishment of law-breakers in the community. The original staples which prisoners were chained to can still be seen on the shaft of the cross.