COCKENZIE, a quoad sacra parish (late), including
the villages of Meadowmill and Portseaton in the parish
of Tranent, and part of the parish of Prestonpans,
in the county of Haddington; the whole containing
1061 inhabitants, of whom 5/0 are in the village of
Cockenzie, 1 mile (N. E.) from Prestonpans. This village,
which is situated on the shore of the Firth of Forth,
is almost wholly inhabited by fishermen, who during the
winter are chiefly employed in procuring supplies for the
markets of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and in the spring
engage in the whale-fisheries of Greenland. The fish
taken here are cod, whitings, flounders, and oysters, of
which last there are beds of excellent quality; and in
summer those who have not engaged themselves in the
whale-fishery go to Caithness for herrings, which they
take in large quantities, and sell to the curers. In
autumn, they are employed in dredging oysters, and
catching such herrings and other fish as appear in the
Firth. The number of boats belonging to the fishery is
thirty, of which ten are of sixteen tons' and twentyone
of seven tons' burthen; they are all without decks,
but well and strongly built, and capable of enduring a
very heavy sea. A considerable foreign and coasting
trade is also carried on, in which two vessels, of 100
and 120 tons respectively, belonging to this place, are
regularly employed; the number of other ships annually
entering and leaving the harbour averages from 250 to
300, of the aggregate burthen of 20,000 tons. The
harbour was constructed in 1S35, by Messrs. Cadell, at
an expense of £6000; it is easily accessible at all times
of the tide, and affords great security to numerous
vessels driven in by stress of weather. It has sixteen
feet depth of water at spring, and ten feet at neap, tides;
and though formed more especially for shipping the
produce of the collieries, from which an iron tramway
has been laid down to the port by the proprietors, it has
been of great benefit to the fishery of the place. In 1S46
an act of parliament was passed authorising the construction
of a branch of nearly a mile and a quarter, to
Cockenzie harbour, of the North-British railway. A mill
for grinding bones and rape-cakes, chiefly brought from
Germany, for manure, is driven by steam, and employs
a small number of the inhabitants not engaged in the
fisheries; there are also some salt-works in the district.
A fair, formerly of some importance, but now chiefly
for toys, is held in November. The church was erected
in 1838, by subscription, chiefly through the instrumentality
of H. F. Cadell, Esq., aided by grants from the
General Assembly's and East-Lothian Church-Extension
Societies, and a contribution of £150 raised by the
Rev. A. Forman, of Innerwick. It is a neat edifice,
built at an expense of about £600, adapted for a congregation
of 450 persons, and capable of being enlarged
by the erection of galleries. A school is supported by
subscription.