| Eyemouth | |
|---|---|
 Eyemouth Harbour | |
  Eyemouth Location within theScottish Borders | |
| Population | 3,580 (2020)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NT944640 |
| • Edinburgh | 43 mi (69 km) |
| • London | 312 mi (502 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Eyemouth |
| Postcode district | TD14 |
| Dialling code | 01890 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 55°52′16″N2°05′35″W / 55.871°N 2.093°W /55.871; -2.093 | |
Eyemouth (Scottish Gaelic:Inbhir Eighe)[2] is a town andcivil parish inBerwickshire, in theScottish Borders area ofScotland. It is two miles (three kilometres) east of the main north–southA1 road and eight miles (thirteen kilometres) north ofBerwick-upon-Tweed.
The town's name comes from its location at the mouth of theEye Water. The Berwickshire coastline consists of high cliffs over deep clear water with sandy coves and picturesque harbours. Afishing port, Eyemouth holds a yearlyHerring Queen Festival. Notable buildings in the town include Gunsgreen House[3] and a cemetery watch-house built to stand guard against theResurrectionists (body snatchers). Many of the features of atraditional fishing village are preserved in the narrow streets and "vennels".[citation needed]
Eyemouth is not far from the small villages ofAyton,Reston,St Abbs,Coldingham, andBurnmouth, all inBerwickshire.
The coast offers opportunities for birdwatching, walking, fishing and diving. Accommodation includes several hotels, B&Bs and a holiday park.
Fort Point at Eyemouth was the site of the firsttrace-italienne-style fortification in Britain, built on a spur or peninsula overlooking the existing harbour during the war known as theRough Wooing. Building commenced in 1547 by the English military engineerSir Richard Lee (1513–1575),[4] and it cost £1,906. Some of the stone was brought from a demolished tower atDunglass Castle, East Lothian and timber was taken fromColdingham Priory.[5]
The fort was demolished under theTreaty of Boulogne in 1551.[6] A larger and more complex fort was built in 1557 and 1558 byd'Oisel and probably the Italian military engineer Lorenzo Pomarelli for the Regent of Scotland,Mary of Guise, when at war with England. The new fortress could hold some 500 French troops, and may have been intended as a staging post to securely store munitions and artillery nearBerwick-upon-Tweed and the border with England. New fortifications were built at Berwick in response.[7]
New picks, mattocks, and shovels made inEdinburgh Castle were shipped to the workforce fromLeith in April 1558, and provisions with butter, biscuit, cheese, flour, and ling (salt fish) were sent until October.[8] However, the new work at Eyemouth, which perhaps was never completed, was scheduled for demolition under theTreaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. French garrisons remained in Scotland atDunbar Castle,Inchkeith, and atLeith. The landward ramparts from both the English and French phases are still to be seen as earthworks.[9]
Eyemouth fell within the feudal barony of Coldingham, possessed until the early 17th century by Coldingham Priory, after which it passed to theHome family, who had held lands in that barony since at least the 15th century.[10] All landowners (portioners) within the barony held their properties either by hereditaryfeu or by a term-renewable, occasionally hereditary,tack (Scots word for a lease) from the barony.
The lands between the southern banks of the Eye Water consisted of three estates: Gunsgreen, immediately opposite Eyemouth and Netherbyres, once part of the larger lands of Flemington which stretched all the way toLamberton. At the beginning of the 17th century Gunsgreen estate was possessed by Alexander Lauder of Gunsgreen,[11] a great-great-grandson ofSir Robert Lauder of The Bass.[12] On 17 January 1629, Alexander Lauder of Gunsgreen, acting asbailie for Sir David Home ofWedderburn, gave asasine to Andrew Gray in Eyemouth, of some land on the boundaries of Houndlaw and also in Eyemouth.[13]
Netherbyres was for at least 250 years held by the Craw (originally Auchincraw) family. "George Craw of Netherbyre" was "deceased" by July 1614 when his son William came into possession of that property and Reidhall, "with the walk mill" extending to 12 husbandlands (312 acres (126 hectares)).[11] A later William Craw, who had a passion for mathematics, built the first modern harbour at Eyemouth and, in 1715, the elliptical walled garden, the latter almost certainly unique in the world. The Netherbyres House we see today was commenced about 1835 for CaptainSamuel Brown, who had the patent and monopoly for the supply of anchor chain to the Royal Navy. He later went on to design and patent chain suspension piers and bridges, including theUnion Bridge over theRiver Tweed,[14]
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was created Lord Churchill of Eyemouth in thePeerage of Scotland in 1682. This was the first of his peerage titles. In the late 18th century Dutch engineers undertook a survey for a canal linking Eyemouth to Duns. The plan would have involved damming theWhiteadder Water atChirnside thus diverting the course of the Whiteadder Water through the low-lying area known as Billiemire to join the Eye Water near Ayton. The plan was never carried out.
The hero William Spears (1812–1885) is celebrated by a bronze statue in Eyemouth Market Place, where he stands pointing the way to Ayton, the scene of his peaceful demonstration. Spears led a revolt against thetithes on fish levied by theChurch of Scotland, even after the greatDisruption of 1843 when most fishermen left the established Church to join other congregations.
Very soon after the cost of getting the tithes removed had been met, the town was struck by theEyemouth Disaster when, on 14 October 1881, most of the fishing fleet, some 20 boats and 129 men from the town, were lost in a terrible storm.[15] Including victims from other coastal towns, a total of 189 men lost their lives.[16] This is commemorated in the Eyemouth Tapestry housed in the museum.[17]
A contemporary article offers an interesting insight into Eyemouth in the 1860s:
Between St Abbs Head and Berwick, however is situated Eyemouth, a fishing village pure and simple, with all that wonderful filth scattered about which is a sanitary peculiarity of such towns. The population of Eyemouth is in keeping with the outward appearance of the place. As a whole, they are rough, uncultivated, and more drunken in their habits than the fishermen of the neighbouring villages.Coldingham Shore, for instance, is only three miles distant, and has a population of about one hundred fishermen, of a very respectable class, sober and well dressed, and well to do.[18]
In December 1920, a war memorial was unveiled in the town to the those who died in theFirst World War.[19] Netherbyres House was bought byChristopher Furness in 1928, and was donated toGardeners' Royal Benevolent Society for charitable use by his second son, Colonel Simon Furness, the Vice Lord Lieutenant forBerwickshire.
From 1891 until 1962, the town was served by ashort branch railway line that ran fromBurnmouth on the present-dayEast Coast Main Line. The line was forced to close from August 1948 to June 1949 after being damaged by the flooding of theEye Water.
In October 2016, a statue was unveiled to commemorate the Eyemouth Fishing Disaster of 1881.[20] It is a five-metre long bronze sculpture called 'Widows and Bairns'.[20]
TheA1 road, the main Edinburgh – Newcastle route, puts the town within commuting distance of Edinburgh.
Eyemouth railway station served the town until it was closed in 1962. The nearest railway station isReston railway station, The 253 bus route, operatedBorders Buses, stops at Reston railway station
Eyemouth Public School, in Albert Road, was built in 1876, designed by the architect William Gray Junior.[21]
Children attend Eyemouth Primary School, after which they attend Eyemouth High School.
There is a further education training centre in the town.Northumberland College inBerwick-upon-Tweed is eight miles (13 km) away, and full-time further and higher education courses are offered atBorders College andHeriot-Watt University's textiles campus inGalashiels.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Scotland andITV Border. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter.[22]
Eyemouth's local radio stations areBBC Radio Scotland on 94.1 FM andGreatest Hits Radio Scottish Borders and North Northumberland on 103.4 FM.
The Border Telegraph andSouthern Reporter are the town's local newspapers.[23][24]
In 1997, Eyemouth was given EU funding from a scheme to regenerate declining fishing villages and raised matching funds itself to construct a deep water extension to the harbour.[citation needed] Eyemouth Harbour caters for most types of fishery activity and as a result Eyemouth's primary industry has seen a certain amount of rejuvenation.[citation needed] Apontoon has been installed in the harbour to provide ease of boarding for seafarers. Volunteers forHer Majesty's Coastguard and the seagoingRNLI lifeboat are called out by the firing ofmaroons, one for the Coastguard and two for the Lifeboat.[citation needed]
There is aboatyard which carries out works to fishing and commercial vessels. The new harbour and fish market has toilets and showers which are available to visiting seamen. The visitor centre explains the methods of fishing, the types of nets and the vessels used and examples of the equipment of a typicalfishing boat are displayed. Visitors can see the market in action in the early mornings from a viewing platform. Boats are available for hire for sea fishing, sightseeing and diving in one of the fewmarine reserves in Britain.[citation needed]
TheEyemouth pale is a cold-smoked haddock, distinct from varieties such asFinnan haddock by its lighter, golden hue, and subtler smoked flavour, achieved by a shorter smoking time.[25][26]
The elected Eyemouth Town Community Council is led by a chairman and has 12 members, including an HonoraryProvost. Three representatives ofScottish Borders Council attend monthly public meetings in order to take on board and act upon feedback from the community councillors, who serve as a voice of the people of the town. Eyemouth Town Community Council (a ScottishCommunity Council), meets on the last Monday of the month (except in December) at 7.00pm in the community centre, minutes of the meetings being displayed on their website, on two notice boards in the town and also in theBerwickshire News.
The wide sandy bay is flanked by high cliffs. Despite being sheltered by Hurkur Rocks, storms can generate high waves and throw high plumes of spume into the air over the sea wall. It is named "TheBantry", said[by whom?] to be in affectionate memory of the Irish labourers from the fishing town of that name inCounty Cork who constructed it.
The 18-holegolf course and clubhouse have sea views and a restaurant which is open to the public.
Divers can visit to the St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve.
Eyemouth also has a leisure centre consisting of a gym, a studio, a sauna and two swimming pools, one small with a maximum depth of less than 3 feet and a big pool with a minimum depth of 3 feet to a maximum depth of 10 feet.
There is a resident seal, Sammy the seal in the harbour.[27]
Other places of interest nearby include the fortifications ofBerwick-upon-Tweed also designed bySir Richard Lee, and its military museum,Paxton House, theUnion Bridge and the Chain Bridge Honey Farm, and scores of quiet country roads skirting theCheviot Hills, frequently snow-capped in winter. Many visitors pause on their journey on the A1 to photograph their arrival in Scotland or their departure to England at the border crossing. Though the border has significance to many visitors, most residents of Eyemouth consider themselves Scottish rather than British.[citation needed] Nearby the border is a nature trail through the mysteriously named 'Conundrum' Farm. Typical Border towns and villages, such asKelso,Grantshouse,Abbey St Bathans,Cove,Cockburnspath (pronounced 'coburnspath' or 'copath' by locals),Cornhill,Wooler,Morpeth,Alnmouth andAlnwick are all within easy reach for day trips from Eyemouth. NearChirnside stood Ninewells House, since demolished, whereScottish Enlightenment philosopherDavid Hume spent much of his life.
Rev. Daniel McIver,An old-time fishing town – Eyemouth, John Menzies, 1906.
Peter Aitchison,Children of the Sea: The Story of the People of Eyemouth, Tuckwell Press Ltd, 2001. Republished ?2007 asBlack Friday. (The author is a descendant of William Spears.)
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