Musselburgh.html



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This article is about Musselburgh in Scotland. For Musselburgh in New Zealand, see Suburbs of Dunedin

Coordinates: 55°56′36″N 3°02′58″W / 55.94326, -3.049555

Musselburgh
Musselburgh shown within Scotland
Population	22,212 (2008 census)
Council area	East Lothian
Lieutenancy area	East Lothian
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MUSSELBURGH
Postcode district	EH21
Dialling code	0131
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	East Lothian
Scottish Parliament	Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Lothians
List of places: UK • Scotland

Welcome to the Honest Toun

Showing the Brunton Hall, from the west of the town

Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre. It also lays claim to the title of Scotland's oldest town.^{citation needed}.

History

It was first settled by the Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in AD80. They built a fort a little inland from the mouth of the River Esk and bridged the river here. In doing so they established the line of the main eastern approach to Scotland's capital for most of the next two thousand years.

The name Musselburgh is Old English in origin with mussel referring to the shellfish ¹, and burgh derived from the Old English for 'town'. ²

Roman Bridge, River Esk

The bridge built by the Romans outlasted them by many centuries. It was rebuilt on the original Roman foundations some time before 1300, and in 1597 it was rebuilt again, this time with a third arch added on the east side of the river. The Old Bridge is also known as the Roman Bridge and remains in use today by pedestrians. To its north is the New Bridge, designed by John Rennie the Elder and built in 1806. This in turn was considerably widened in 1925.

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was fought south of Musselburgh.

The town motto "Honesty" dates back to 1332, when the Regent of Scotland, Randolph, Earl of Moray, died in the burgh after a long illness during which he was devotedly cared for by its citizens. His successor offered to reward the people for their loyalty but they declined, saying they were only doing their duty. The new regent, the Earl of Mar, was impressed and said they were a set of honest men, hence "Honest Toun".

According to his autobiography, Sir Harry Lauder's parents lived at Musselburgh after he was born, where Harry's brothers Matthew, John, and Alexander, and a sister, Isabella, were all born. They moved to Derbyshire sometime after April 1881.

The Musselburgh Silver Arrow is reputed to be the oldest sporting trophy in the world^{citation needed}, and is competed for annually by the Royal Company of Archers. It dates back to at least 1677 [1], and perhaps even to 1603 [2].

Musselburgh today

Musselburgh Racecourse

The town has a population of 22,212 (2008). Musselburgh Racecourse is a well known horse racing venue, while Musselburgh Links is a former venue of golf's Open Championship and is the oldest continuously played golf course in the world^{citation needed}. The golf course was under threat in 2007, as the race course proprietors planned to destroy much of the course with the development of an all weather track accompanied by floodlighting. This was met with strong opposition from local residents.[3] The plans were rejected in August 2007.

Musselburgh is home to the Brunton Theatre. Inveresk Lodge Garden and Musselburgh Cricket Club are both located in Inveresk, to the south of the town.

Schools include Loretto School, a private boarding school, and Musselburgh Grammar School, the local large comprehensive that is one of the oldest Grammar schools in the country, dating from the 17th century. Primary Schools include; Campie Primary School, Musselburgh Burgh Primary School, Stoneyhill Primary School, Pinkie St Peter's Primary School, Loretto RC Primary School and Loretto Nippers (Private).

Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University relocated all its schools from Edinburgh to Musselburgh as of 2007. The Queen officially opened the QMU campus in July 2008.

Musselburgh is known as "The Honest Toun", and celebrates this by the annual election of the Honest Lad and Lass.

Prior to 1975, Musselburgh was in Midlothian, not East Lothian. It became part of the East Lothian District following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and subsequently East Lothian unitary council area in 1996. There is an anecdote that this caused disappointment within the rest of the county, as, prior to that point, East Lothian had no traffic lights.

Railway

Musselburgh has a railway station situated adjacent to Queen Margaret University which is served by regular First ScotRail services from Edinburgh to North Berwick. It is a relatively new station, opened in 1988. Wallyford railway station, opened in 1994, serves the eastern end of the town. The town's original station was situated close to the town centre at the end of a short branch from Newhailes Junction. Passenger services from there ceased in 1964 and the line ultimately closed to all traffic in the early 1970s. It is now a road bypassing the Fisherrow area of the town.

Sport

Musselburgh is home to Musselburgh Athletic who play in the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League. They finished 4th in the 2006/07 season. They play at Olivebank Stadium, in the west of the town.

Musselburgh is also home to Musselburgh Rugby Club who compete in the Scottish Premier Division 2. They play at Stoneyhill, which is also in the west of the town.

Fisherrow harbour at Musselburgh	Eskmills	Musselburgh railway station, showing a local east bound (North Berwick) train, and a west bound (Edinburgh) intercity (125) train	Showing the main entrance to the Brunton Hall
Scottish Episcopal church	Harbour Master's Office

Notes

1. ^ Musselburgh was famous for the mussel beds which grew in the Firth of Forth; after many years of claims that the mussels were unsafe for consumption a movement has been started to re-establish the mussel beds as a commercial venture.
2. ^ http://www.gwp.enta.net/scothist.htm#places

Notable people from the area include Rhona Cameron, comedienne.

See also

• Burgh
• John Muir Way
• List of places in East Lothian

External links

• Census data (PDF)