Newhaven, Edinburgh

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Newhaven harbour in overcast sunlight

Newhaven East Pier and Lighthouse viewed from Western Harbour breakwater.

Newhaven is a harbour village within the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, between Leith and Granton. It has about 5000 inhabitants.

Newhaven was once a thriving fishing village and a centre for shipbuilding. King James IV had wanted to build a Scottish navy, but the existing port of Leith had proved unsuitable for large warships. In 1504 he created Newhaven as a deep-water port, which was used to build the warship Michael in 1507-11. The village was once connected to a railway that ran to Edinburgh and Leith, but it was shut down in 1956. However, efforts are underway to revive it.

Between 1572 and 1890, Newhaven was a major oyster port. A lighthouse was built in 1869. The structure has since fallen into disuse. Newhaven's harbour is now dwarfed by the enlarged Leith Harbour. The once thriving Fishmarket is now converted into a smaller fishmarket (still in use), a fish restaurant, and the Newhaven Heritage Museum.

Newhaven is one of 38 Conservation Areas in Edinburgh. The village also played its part in the birth of photography. David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson did many studies of the fishwives of Newhaven.

Victoria Primary School, established in the 1850's, is a historic building in Newhaven Main Street, and is the oldest local authority Primary School still in use within in the City of Edinburgh. It has a school roll of around 120 children.

The new Western Harbour development extends north into the Firth of Forth from Newhaven. It is also the home of Next Generation Sports Centre, where the tennis player Andy Murray regularly played as a youngster.