Place:Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

source: Family History Library Catalog

Musselburgh (Gaelic: Baile nam Feusgan) was originally located in the Parish of Inveresk to the east of Edinburth. Its importance has been as a fishing port on the Firth of Forth. The population of was 21,900 in 2001, the last census available.

With the alteration of the local government structure of 1996, Inveresk Parish, including Musselburgh, left Midlothian and joined the East Lothian Council Area. Musselburgh is now the largest settlement in East Lothian.

History

the text in this section is condensed from an article in Wikipedia

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

Musselburgh was first settled by the Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in AD 80. 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 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 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 in 1547 was fought south of Musselburgh.

Research Tips

Refer to the Parish of Inveresk