Who was John Gray?

And why are we naming the centre after him?

Rev. John Gray (1646-1717), the former minister of Aberlady, bequeathed his private library to his native town of Haddington.

John Gray was born in Haddington around 1646 and became Minister at Aberlady in 1684. In 1689 he became a "non-juror", a clergyman who believed in the divine right of kings and felt that he could not swear an oath of allegiance to William and Mary because of his previous oath to the deposed James II and his successors. He was forced to leave his position at Aberlady and returned to Haddington, where he occasionally preached.  

His library consisted of over 1000 books from the 16th and 17th centuries and was mostly about theology. In 1711 he drew up a "deed of mortification" leaving the books and a sum of money to the town of Haddington. The bequest took effect after the death of his wife in 1729. A librarian, who was paid from the money he had left, then looked after his books. They were regularly lent out to the townspeople - but not always returned!

In 1929 an annex was built onto the public library in Newton Port (now the library office) to house the remaining books. They were stored there until 1961 when they were sent to the National Library of Scotland to be cared for. In 1982 East Lothian District Council formally transferred ownership to the National Library.