Located 12 miles (19 km) east of Edinburgh in East Lothian, Longniddry was not developed greatly until 1916 when building began on 20 cottages by the Scottish Veterans' Garden Cities Association. Previous residents had worked at coal mining (from the 16th Century until 1924) and weaving, but the village developed into a dormitory settlement after the Second World War. Grand whitewashed villas were built within large gardens on Gosford Road in the 1930s. Public housing followed between the 1950s and 1980s, with further private housing added in the 1960s and 70s. The railway station (1845) is still in use though primarily for commuters to Edinburgh. To the southeast of the railway is the remarkable Longniddry Village, an award-winning planned development featuring vernacular designs inspired by other East Lothian villages. 450 homes were built from 2018 on land owned by the Wemyss and March Estates, with 25% designated as 'affordable'. Developed by Cruden Homes and social enterprise Places for People, the houses includes a combination of interwar-style blocks alongside mock-Georgian architecture with harled walls and coloured details. Green spaces, a community orchard, commercial premises and local shops are a feature of this development.
Important buildings include Longniddry House (early 18th-century), the Golf Club House (1929), and Gosford House (1790 to early 19th-century) by Robert Adam (1728-92) and home to the Earls of Wemyss and March. There is a long (6,219 yards) 18-hole golf course at Links Road.
