Editing Newhaven, Edinburgh (section)

===Early history===
The village lies on the line of a prehistoric [[raised beach]]. It was part of North Leith Parish, being situated north of the [[Water of Leith]] which divided Leith into north and south parishes. It was once a thriving fishing village and a centre for [[shipbuilding]]. King [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] wanted to build a [[Scottish navy]], but the existing port of Leith proved unsuitable for large warships. In 1504 he created "Newhavin"<ref>Register of the Great Seal of Scotland Vol. I-XI, reprinted by the Scottish Record Society 1984</ref> (meaning literally "new harbour") as a custom-built port, specifically for the construction of the warship [[Great Michael|''Michael'']] (popularly called the "Great Michael"). The ship was built between 1507 and 1511. The site of the original harbour is the current open space at Fishmarket Square (see photo above).

Surviving walls of the Chapel of St. Mary and St. James, believed to have been built for the dockyard workers and mariners, can still be seen in Lamb's Court and Westmost Close off Main Street. The chapel was ruinous by 1611; the grounds were acquired for use as a graveyard by the Society of Free Fishermen in 1766 and used as such until 1848.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapel of St Mary And St James, Westmost Close, Main Street, Newhaven, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/sc-27475-newhaven-main-street-ruins-of-st-mary-and |website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |access-date=26 July 2021}}</ref> In the reign of [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]] the Flemish entrepreneurs [[Cornelius de Vos]] and [[Eustachius Roche]] set up salt pans at Newhaven to make sea salt.<ref>John Marwick, ''Extracts from the Burgh Records of Edinburgh: 1573-1589'' (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 534.</ref>

Between 1572 and 1890, Newhaven was a major port for landing [[oyster]]s. In 1881, out of a population of 400 fishermen in the village at the time, 17 fishermen from Newhaven, including boats crewed by a father and son(s), or brothers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Great Eyemouth Fishing Disaster of Oct 14 1881- Listing of Individuals who Perished|url=http://www.geocities.com/scotborder/Eyemouth.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021007210635/http://www.geocities.com/scotborder/Eyemouth.html|archive-date=7 October 2002|via=Berwickshire News 18 October 1881}}</ref> were among the one hundred and eighty-nine who lost their lives in a severe storm, known as the [[Eyemouth disaster]]. There were nine widows and 57 children bereaved from those lives lost just in Newhaven.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 October 1881|title=Eyemouth Fishing Disaster|url=http://www.newhavenheritagecentre.org.uk/eyemouth.html|access-date=2021-09-11|website=newhavenheritagecentre.org.uk|via=Edinburgh Evening News (15 and 17 October 1881)}}</ref>