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Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of .
Musselburgh was first settled by the Roman Britain 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 House, 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 Bethune baronets and later passed to the Earl of Wemyss, the notorious Francis Charteris.
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.
| David Lowe | Independent | 1928-37 | |
| John Henry Paton | Independent | 1937-40 | |
| Thomas White | Labour | 1940-45 | |
| Daniel Feeney | Labour | 1946-49 | |
| Robert Hunter | Labour | 1949-56 | |
| Joseph H. F. Reid | Moderate | 1956-57 | |
| James Lannan | Labour | 1957-60 | |
| Peter Hamilton | Labour | 1960-63 | |
| Robert Arthur | Labour | 1963-66 | |
| Thomas White | Labour | 1966-69 | |
| William Caird | Ratepayers | 1969-72 | |
| Jessie B. Burns | Labour | 1972-75 |
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.See also Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website ( OPSI home page )
| 92.9% |
| 3.9% |
| 1.2% |
| 1.1% |
| 0.9% |
The town's original station was 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 closed to all traffic in the early 1970s. The former railway line is now a road bypassing the Fisherrow area of the town. There was also a station at Fisherrow.
Musselburgh is home to both Musselburgh Racecourse and Musselburgh Links golf course. The links, a former venue of golf's Open Championship, have recently been acknowledged as the oldest continuously played golf course in the world. Musselburgh Athletic F.C. are the town's football team, competing in the East of Scotland League at their Olivebank Park ground in the west of the town. Musselburgh also has some grassroots teams for young players, such as the Musselburgh Windsor and the Musselburgh Youngstars. Musselburgh RFC play in the Scottish Premiership at Stoneyhill.
The Musselburgh Roads Cycling Club was formed in January 1936 by a breakaway group of 16 from the Musselburgh Clarion. After forming an alliance with other clubs during the war, the MRCC reformed again in its own right in January 1945. The club has a long and successful history of competitive cycling. Notable riders include: Jock Allison, who in 1945 won the British Best All Rounder title and is to date still the only Scottish club rider to do so; Janet Sutherland, who dominated Scottish woman's cycling in 1951–4; and Sandy Gilchrist, who in 1977 won 5 individual and 4 team Scottish Championships. Many other riders from the club have won national championships or have been selected to compete at world championship level or the Commonwealth Games. Today, club members take part in track racing, road racing, time trials, cyclo cross and mountain biking. Their base is at the Tolbooth in the High Street.
There is also a locally run darts league, the Musselburgh and District Darts League, comprising an A and B league, each containing eight teams. Many players from this league represent the Lothian team at county level.
In Musselburgh there is also an amateur swimming club called Musselburgh Amateur Swimming Club. The club is home to the Musselburgh Marlins and trains at Musselburgh Sports Centre. The club was first established in 1886 and in its current format in 1994 where they trained at Loretto Swimming Pool which is now closed.
The East Lothian Seagulls of the Scottish Floorball League are based in Musselburgh and train and play matches at the sports centre at Queen Margaret University.
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