On the second Thursday of July the travelling chapmen of the three Lothians met at Prestonpans to elect a provost, a depute, a clerk, a treasurer, six bailies and councillors for their society. After the election they marched in a body behind music to the cross at Preston, drank a few bottles of wine and went home. The minister of Prestonpans explained that each bailie then kept order among the chapmen’s booths at the fairs of his own towns.
The chapmen’s election at Prestonpans
the first Thursday on or after 8 July · Prestonpans, East Lothian
No longer kept
After the election they march in a body, preceded by music, to the cross at Preston, there drink a few bottles of wine, and then return.
From Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. 17, p. 79. Read the original
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