Musselburgh, United Kingdom

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 was a burghWhen Edinburgh was nane,And Musselburgh will be a burghWhen Edinburgh's gane.

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, 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 Sir William Sharp 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.

Prior to the local government reforms of 1975, Musselburgh was a small burgh within the county of Midlothian. As such, it elected a town council responsible for a number of areas of local governance, including housing, lighting and street cleaning and drainage. Midlothian County Council was responsible for other areas, including education. The town council met at the Musselburgh Tolbooth and later, for a short period before its abolition, at the Brunton Hall. The town's civic head and chairman of the council was the provost and there were three bailies and a treasurer.

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.