The name Musselburgh is
Old English in origin, with
mussel referring to
the shellfish. The
burgh element appears to derive from
burh, in the same way as Edinburgh, before the introduction of formal burghs by
David I. Its earliest Anglic name was
Eskmuthe (Eskmouth) for its location at the mouth of the
River Esk. Musselburgh was first settled by the
Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in 80 AD. They built a
fort a little inland from the mouth of the River Esk, at
Inveresk. They bridged the Esk downstream from the fort, and thus established the line of the main eastern approach to Scotland's capital for most of the next 2,000 years. 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. Musselburgh was made a
burgh of barony c.1315 and a burgh of regality in 1562. The town attempted to become a
royal burgh in 1632 but this was prevented by opposition from Edinburgh burgesses. Although Edinburgh is now known to have been a burgh by 1125, Musselburgh's antiquity is reflected in the
Scots-language traditional rhyme: Musselburgh is known as "The Honest Toun", and celebrates this by the annual election of the Honest Lad and Lass. The town motto "
Honestas 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 the townsfolk. 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". Archaeological excavations by
Headland Archaeology between 2003 and 2004, as part of work to renew the water mains, found that the medieval town was concentrated on the High Street and that occupation in the North High Street area and Fisherrow only dates to the 16th century or later. The early town was centred on the eastern side of the river Esk. Musselburgh is home to the
Palladian Manor House of
Newhailes, which dates back to 1702 and was home to eight generations of the Dalrymple family, who in the 18th century were a prominent political and legal force within
Scotland. The house and grounds are now managed by the
National Trust for Scotland. Stoneyhill House dates from the mid 18th century. The estate of Stoneyhill was formerly owned by
Sir William Sharp and later passed to the
Earl of Wemyss, the notorious
Francis Charteris. The population was 6,331 inhabitants in 1841. The town and its population grew considerably throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, with major local authority and private housing developments on both the eastern and western outskirts. The
Battle of Pinkie, part of the
Rough Wooing between Scotland and England, was fought south of Musselburgh in 1547.
Town Council Prior to the
local government reforms of 1975, Musselburgh was a
small burgh within the
county of Midlothian. As such, it elected a town council responsible for a number of areas of local governance, including housing, lighting and street cleaning and drainage. Midlothian County Council was responsible for other areas, including education. The town council met at the
Musselburgh Tolbooth and later, for a short period before its abolition, at the Brunton Hall. The town's civic head and chairman of the council was the
provost and there were three
bailies and a treasurer. After the local government reforms of 1975, Musselburgh was transferred to the
East Lothian district of the new
Lothian region, and subsequently became part of the East Lothian
unitary council area in 1996. == Demography ==