Battle of Prestonpans 1745
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1745 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 18th century | derived |
| Period | Jacobite & later | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| War / conflict | Jacobite risings | Wikidata |
| Participants | Jacobitism, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata |
| Local authority | East Lothian | HES |
| Registered area | 1111.3 ha | HES |
| HES inventory reference | BTL16 | HES |
| Designated | 2011-03-21 | HES |
| Last amended | 2019-05-10 | HES |
About the battle
The Battle of Prestonpans, 21 September 1745, took place near Prestonpans, in East Lothian. It was the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Jacobite forces, led by the exiled Charles Edward Stuart and George Murray, defeated a British government army under Sir John Cope, whose inexperienced troops broke in the face of a Highland charge. The battle lasted less than thirty minutes, was a huge boost to Jacobite morale, and established the revolt as a serious threat.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Local authority: East Lothian
- Approximate centre of registered area: 55.9552, -2.9509
- Registered area: 1111.3 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Prestonpans (revision 1370586631), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Contains Historic Environment Scotland and OS data © Historic Environment Scotland and Crown Copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Pinkie 1547 · 5 km
- Battle of Boroughmuir 1335 · 15 km
- Cleanse the Causeway 1520 · 15 km
- Battle of Roslin 1303 · 16 km
- Battle of Wester Kinghorn 1332 · 21 km
- Battle of Rullion Green 1666 · 22 km
Other battles of the Jacobite risings
- Battle of Dunkeld 1689
- Battle of Killiecrankie 1689
- Battle of Cromdale 1690
- Battle of Culloden 1746
- Battle of Falkirk Muir 1746
All battles of the Jacobite risings →
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Jacobite & later · 18th century battles