Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016160
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016160
The simplest kind of harbour was a quay lining a river mouth or inlet. Such was Leith in its earlier days, and Cramond. Eyemouth, a harbour since the 12th century, follows this same pattern with the subsequent addition of two projecting piers. In the mid 18th century, Eyemouth was "simply a sea tavern conveniently placed on an otherwise hostile shore to offer succour in the age of sail to vessels foiled by adverse winds".
Change, however, was imminent-triggered by John Smeaton, one of Scotland's engineering giants who had worked on canals and road bridges. The harbour was first built in 1768-70, Smeaton's breakwater being designed to enable ships to lie there even with a rare north or north-east wind-to which it was exposed. Between 1770 and 1841 the harbour was further improved, and it was rebuilt most substantially in 1885-87.Sluices at the inner end allowed the basin to be scoured.
White fisheries had developed around 1750, herring fisheries expanded in the 19th century and so did a coastal trade in corn. As trade increased, more wharves were built; also impressive stone warehouses and granaries, some of them four storeys high (NT 946643). And a rather different trade, in dead bodies, caused a watch-tower to be built in the churchyard! The village too, grew-huddles of houses clustered in the streets at the head of the bay, backing on to the quays; across the river, the prosperous Gunsgreen House.
On the western promontory of the bay are the remains of a series of fortifications from prehistoric times to the 20th century, occasioned by the good sheltered anchorage. An English fort, said to have been erected by the Protector Somerset, dates to 1547; French defences date to 1557 after the removal of the 60-strong English garrison in 1550. The French withdrew
in 1559.
Information from 'Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Lothian and Borders', (1985).
