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Musselburgh
The Honest Toun

Musselburgh is located on the Firth of Forth at the western extremity of East Lothian, to the east of Edinburgh. Originally known as Eskmouth, due to its position at the mouth of the River Esk, the town now takes its name from the mussel beds found in the river.

Musselburgh is the largest town in East Lothian and one of the oldest towns in Scotland; it was made a burgh of barony in 1315 and a burgh of regality in 1562. In the 17th century, attempts to make the town a royal burgh were apparently blocked by Edinburgh burgesses who wanted to control trade in the area. Rivalry between the two towns can be heard in the chorus of The Musselburgh Song by Alexander Innes:

For Musselburgh was a Burgh, When Edinburgh was nane,
And Musselburgh will be a Burgh, When Edinburgh's gane.

The Musselburgh Links is officially recognised as the oldest golf course in the world; there is evidence that golf was played there in 1672, but Mary, Queen of Scots, is reputed to have played there in 1567. Originally a seven-hole course, by 1870 this was increased to nine. The Open Championship was held at the Links six times between 1874 and 1889 at a time when Musselburgh was the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Since 1816, horse racing has taken place at the Links and since then the nine-hole golf course has been contained within the grounds of the racecourse; as a result, no golf is played when there is a race meeting!

The village of Inveresk lies to the south of Musselburgh, of which it is now a suburb, on the east bank of the River Esk. Inveresk has been occupied since Roman times and the remains of a 1st century settlement and fort can be found here. The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh took place near here in 1547.

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