Houses in Main Street, Newhaven

Image: © kim traynor Taken: 7 Jan 2011

One of the great tragedies of 1960s re-development was the loss of so much of the old fishing village of Newhaven. While these houses on the north side of the main street were restored with reasonable success, the buildings on the opposite side were replaced by 'modern' 1960s housing. The origin of the village's inhabitants is uncertain, but it is believed that they were refugees fleeing from Catholic persecution in the Low Countries under Spanish rule in the 16th century. (I've always thought it strange that oral tradition and family names have not supplied us with more exact knowledge of their origins). The distinctive, traditional Flemish or Friesian dress of the Newhaven fishwives, carrying their creels, was a common sight in Edinburgh right up to the 1950s and can be seen in many of the calotypes made by the pioneering Victorian photographers, Hill & Adamson, for whom they were a favourite subject. http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/pp_d/pp_hill_calotypes_newhaven_fishwives.htm More can be seen by putting 'Newhaven' into the search at this www.nationalgalleries.org/

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