In 1332, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, lay dying in a small Scottish burgh on the Firth of Forth. He was Regent of Scotland after the death of Robert the Bruce, and his long illness had been nursed by the townsfolk of the burgh with unusual devotion. When he died, his successor as Regent, the Earl of Mar, offered to reward the people for their loyalty. They refused. They had only been doing their duty, they said. The Earl of Mar was impressed. They were, he said, a set of honest men. The town has called itself The Honest Toun ever since, and the motto Honestas still runs on its arms. Today Musselburgh elects an Honest Lad and Lass every year. Sometimes a folk reputation is built on a single moment of refusal.
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, five miles east of Edinburgh city centre. The name is Old English. The mussel half refers to the shellfish - mussel beds at the mouth of the River Esk gave the early settlement its name. The burgh half derives from the Anglo-Saxon burh, in the same way that Edinburgh does, predating the formal Scottish burghs introduced by David I in the twelfth century. The town's earliest Anglic name was Eskmuthe, Eskmouth - simply describing its position. The Romans got here first. They settled the area in the years after their invasion of Scotland in 80 AD and built a cavalry fort on the rising ground at Inveresk, a little inland from the river mouth. They also built a bridge across the Esk downstream of the fort, establishing the line of the main eastern approach to what would become Scotland's capital for the next two thousand years. The bridge built by the Romans outlasted them by many centuries; it was rebuilt on its original Roman foundations sometime before 1300, and again in 1597 with a third arch added on the east side. The Old Bridge - also known as the Roman Bridge - remains in use today by pedestrians.
Musselburgh was made a burgh of barony around 1315 and a burgh of regality in 1562. It attempted to become a royal burgh in 1632 but was blocked by opposition from the burgesses of Edinburgh, who did not want a rival on their doorstep. On 10 September 1547, the Battle of Pinkie was fought south of the town - part of the Rough Wooing, Henry VIII's attempt to force the betrothal of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, to the future Edward VI. The Scottish army was crushed by an English force commanded by the Duke of Somerset. Pinkie was the last pitched battle between national armies of Scotland and England, and one of the bloodiest, with perhaps six thousand Scots killed. The Scots call it Black Saturday. Musselburgh recovered. The town grew through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; its population was 6,331 by 1841. Stoneyhill House dates from the mid eighteenth century, while the Palladian Newhailes House on the western edge of town dates from 1702 and was home to eight generations of the Dalrymple family - one of the great Scottish Enlightenment families - until passing to the National Trust for Scotland.
The Musselburgh Silver Arrow is reputed to be the oldest sporting trophy in the United Kingdom, dating to at least 1603. It is competed for annually by the Royal Company of Archers, the Sovereign's body guard in Scotland. The town is also home to Musselburgh Racecourse and to Musselburgh Links - a golf course that has recently been formally acknowledged as the oldest continuously played golf course in the world. The nine-hole Old Course at Musselburgh Links was for nearly two centuries the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, after they moved from Leith in 1836. The course hosted six Open Championships between 1874 and 1889. When the Honourable Company moved out to Muirfield in 1891, taking the Open with them, Musselburgh lost its top-flight tournament. But people kept playing. The course is still public, still in use, still where it has always been - on the racecourse infield, sharing ground with the horses.
Newhailes House stands on the western edge of Musselburgh, a near-perfect example of Scottish Palladian architecture from 1702. Sir David Dalrymple, the first owner, hired the architect James Smith - the same Smith who designed Dalkeith Palace - to design a building meant to express Scottish Enlightenment ambition. The library at Newhailes was once called by Samuel Johnson the most learned drawing room in Europe. The house and grounds are now managed by the National Trust for Scotland. In 2007 Queen Margaret University relocated all its schools from Edinburgh to a new campus in Musselburgh, opened officially by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2008. The notable people the town has produced include the darts player Gary Anderson, the athlete Yvonne Murray, John Grieve VC who won the Victoria Cross at Balaclava, the sculptor Alexander Carrick, and the novelist Margaret Oliphant. James Martin, who played Eric in Still Game, has lived in East Lothian since 1974.
Musselburgh sits at 55.9419 degrees north, 3.0542 degrees west, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Esk, five miles east of central Edinburgh. From above, the most distinctive feature is the racecourse - a large oval immediately east of the town - with the golf links course laid out around its infield. The Old Bridge and New Bridge cross the Esk in the town centre, with Fisherrow harbour on the firth shore. Best viewed from 2,000 to 3,000 feet for town, racecourse, golf links, and bridges. Nearest ICAO airport: Edinburgh (EGPH) ~9 nm west. The A1 trunk road runs along the southern edge of the town. Arthur's Seat is visible to the west; the Lammermuir Hills rise to the south. Across the firth to the north is the Fife coast, with the harbour town of Kirkcaldy visible on clear days. Inveresk village - the site of the Roman fort - sits on the ridge immediately south.
Located at 55.9419°N, 3.0542°W at the mouth of the River Esk on the Firth of Forth, ~5 nm east of central Edinburgh. Recommended viewing altitude 2,000-3,000 feet. Visual landmarks: oval racecourse immediately east of town; oldest continuously played golf course (Musselburgh Links) laid out around racecourse infield; Old Bridge (Roman foundations) and New Bridge crossing River Esk; Fisherrow harbour. Nearest ICAO airport: Edinburgh (EGPH) ~9 nm west. Arthur's Seat visible west; Fife coast across firth to north; Inveresk village (Roman fort site) on ridge immediately south. A1 trunk road skirts town to south.