History

It was first settled by the Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in AD80. They built a fort a little inland from the mouth of the River Esk and bridged the river here. 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 name Musselburgh is Old English in origin with mussel referring to the shellfish , and burgh derived from the Old English for 'town'.

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was fought south of Musselburgh.

The town motto "Honesty" 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 its citizens. 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".

According to his autobiography, Sir Harry Lauder's parents lived at Musselburgh after he was born, where Harry's brothers Matthew, John, and Alexander, and a sister, Isabella, were all born. They moved to Derbyshire sometime after April 1881.

The Musselburgh Silver Arrow is reputed to be the oldest sporting trophy in the worldFact: date=October 2008, and is competed for annually by the Royal Company of Archers. It dates back to at least 1677 1, and perhaps even to 1603 2.

Education

Schools include Loretto School, a private boarding school, and Musselburgh Grammar School, the local large comprehensive that is one of the oldest Grammar schools in the country, dating from the 17th century. Primary Schools include; Campie Primary School, Musselburgh Burgh Primary School, Stoneyhill Primary School, Pinkie St Peter's Primary School, Loretto RC Primary School and Loretto Nippers (Private).

Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University relocated all its schools from Edinburgh to Musselburgh as of 2007. The Queen officially opened the QMU campus in July 2008.

Musselburgh is known as "The Honest Toun", and celebrates this by the annual election of the Honest Lad and Lass.

Prior to 1975, Musselburgh was in Midlothian, not East Lothian. It became part of the East Lothian District following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and subsequently East Lothian unitary council area in 1996. There is an anecdote that this caused disappointment within the rest of the county, as, prior to that point, East Lothian had no traffic lights.