Newhaven Heritage Museum

Please note that Newhaven Heritage Museum has been closed.

The Newhaven Heritage Museum is located next to the Newhaven Harbor. This is a museum attraction in Scotland like no other. It is situated in the Newhaven Fish Market which is rich in heritage and is a living reminder of the lives that the fishing community, both men and women, led. The Newhaven Harbour used to be a naval dockyard and it is here where the greatest ship of that time period was constructed between the years 1507 to 1511. The ship's name was ‘Great Michael’. The Fishmarket was divided into three different parts in the year 1994, and makes the trip to the Newhaven Heritage Museum even more exciting. On the one side is the fishmarket that is still operational and on the other is a wonderful restaurant that serves only the best fish. The naval shipyard also lived through the great oyster boom that hit this region, at the time of its construction.

The Newhaven Heritage Museum in Edinburgh is a
spectacular attraction in Scotland that allows visitors to make use of
all
their senses during their tour of the museum. And it is the solidarity
of
the fishermen and the fishwives community that is recognized by the
museum.
Their unique way of living, clothing, superstitions and choirs are all
looked at through interesting exhibits and life size mannequins. The
fishwives used to frequent Edinburgh, always seen with their fresh fish
for
sale and can be seen in the large collection of photographs within the
Newhaven Heritage Museum.

The Edinburgh fishwives were easily recognized as they mostly wore
only
two sets of clothing. The one set was their working uniform that
consisted
of a striped skirt in white and navy, with an apron. The second was for
singing in the choir or the odd occasion out side the working
environment,
and though both outfits were similar, the skirt for special events, was
red
and yellow. The choir was very important to this community and in 1896
the
Fishergirl Choir (renamed to Fisherlasses Choir) was founded and later
in
1927, the Fisherwomens’ Choir began to entertain audiences.

The exhibits at the Newhaven Heritage Museum in Edinburgh include
sets
that have been reconstructed to visualize certain stories and
information,
with video displays and being able to hear the voices of the choirs,
makes
this museum an extremely popular attraction in Scotland.

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