Visitors came to the village for many and varied reasons be it pleasure, boat trips, onward travel, bathing, food and drink or simply to enjoy the sea air. The main drivers behind all this activity were undoubtedly the ferries, of which there were many, although the fresh sea air and the local people certainly played their part.

In the mid 1700s, Newhaven harbour was a single stone pier. It was fast becoming a prominent ferry port. Although Queensferry was recognised as the shortest crossing by boat, sailing from Newhaven reduced the journey time for those travelling from Edinburgh to the Fife towns. The one-hour coach journey from Edinburgh city was scheduled to meet incoming and outgoing ferries, brought passengers to Newhaven on a daily basis.

Regular sailings to Aberdour with goods and passengers, three daily sailings to Kirkcaldy and Dysart and four each to Burntisland and Pettycur show how busy it would have been in those early days. This was the start of bringing national prominence to Newhaven and for close on a century making it Scotland’s largest and busiest ferry port.

With the arrival of steam-powered ships in the 1800’s, the ferry services increased, and their destinations were further afield. The UK Steamship Co. sailed to London every ten days; the Aberdeen Smack & Steam Packet Co. ran from Newhaven to Aberdeen, Inverness and as far as Orkney; every Wednesday and Saturday, the London & Edinburgh Steam Packet Co. ran a service to London. This company had offices at Whale Bank at the top of the Whale Brae and in Maitland Street at the west end of the village approximately where Porto & Fi is today.

Because of the increase in the ferry services at Newhaven and Leith, the Trinity Pier Company employed the services of Capt. Sir Samuel Brown RN to design and build a pier. Already renowned in this area of engineering using chain, Brown built the Trinity Pier of Suspension, 700ft long and 4ft wide, at a cost of £4,000. It was opened on August 14, 1821 with great pomp and was quickly in service with steam packets, initially carrying goods and passengers to Queensferry, Grangemouth, Alloa and Stirling.

The fact that so many people were coming to Newhaven helped to develop the local hostelries in the village. One of the earliest, and probably the least well known today was The Whale. There is some speculation as to where it was actually located, but possibly at the foot of the Whale Brae — a coach service, the London Fly, left from here.

The Boatie Row Tavern was another well-frequented inn, situated as it was at the pier head. Probably the most famous, however, was the Peacock Inn.. Established by an Edinburgh man, Thomas Peacock. in 1767, he had an obvious eye for business and saw the large ferry traffic as being potential customers for his new business.

Originally consisting of a few one-storey cottages, which fronted on to the sea, they were frequently lashed by the waves on stormy days but despite this he turned the inn into a lucrative business specialising in fish dinners. Freshly caught and supplied by the local fishermen, it seemed he could do no wrong.

These and many other taverns throughout the village provided food and drink for the numerous visitors and travellers who came to Newhaven for the ferries and the pleasure sailings as well as the sea bathing, which was a popular activity.

The promenade at Annfield gave access to the beach, which was a popular place of leisure for both locals and the visitors. Unfortunately due to land reclamation this beach was lost in the 1930’s when the Western Harbour was being created.

As well as providing access for the ferries and pleasure cruises the Chain Pier was also used for sea bathing. Bathing huts were available as well as a gymnasium at the end of the pier for the more athletic types to continue their exercising. One of the feats was to swim to the Stone Pier and back, a distance of around 500m.

The demise of the ferry traffic and the general visitors to the area came about with the creation of Granton Harbour by the Duke of Buccleuch. Opened in November of 1835, most of the ferry services moved from Newhaven and the Chain Pier for this new and more modern facility.

The opening of the Forth Bridge in 1890 significantly impacted the ferry passenger services from the Edinburgh area, but the final blow was the great storm of 1898 when the pier was damaged beyond repair. All that was left worth saving was the ticket and booking office that we know today as The Old Chain Pier pub. ■

Info: newhavenheritage@gmail.com