In recognition of Haddington's strategic importance in the Lothians, it was burnt twice in the 13th century by the English, once by the forces of John of England in 1216, and in 1246 by John's son Henry III of England. In early 1356, Edward III of England, following in his great-grandfather's footsteps, invaded Scotland, in an episode that would become known as the Burnt Candlemas. Edward had come north to recapture Berwick upon Tweed, taken by the Scots in 1355, this having been accomplished he overwintered at Roxburgh. There, Edward Baliol, the pretender to the Scots throne, had resigned his interest in the Scots throne to Edward. By February, 1356, Edward had crossed the Lammermuir Hills, and in revenge for Berwick, spent ten days at Haddington, where he sacked the town, and destroyed most of the buildings there, including the Franciscan Lamp of Lothian. His army ravaged the whole of Lothian, burning Edinburgh and the Shrine of the Virgin at Whitekirk.