Twilight of Newhaven: the Transformation of an Ancient Fishing Village Into a Modern Neighborhood
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2020 TWILIGHT OF NEWHAVEN: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN ANCIENT FISHING VILLAGE INTO A MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD Asa James Swan University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5641-0066 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.209 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Swan, Asa James, "TWILIGHT OF NEWHAVEN: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN ANCIENT FISHING VILLAGE INTO A MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD" (2020). Theses and Dissertations--History. 57. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/57 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Asa James Swan, Student Dr. Karen Petrone, Major Professor Dr. David Hamilton, Director of Graduate Studies TWILIGHT OF NEWHAVEN: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN ANCIENT FISHING VILLAGE INTO A MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD _______________________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Asa James Swan Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Karen Petrone, Professor of History Lexington, Kentucky 2020 Copyright © Asa James Swan 2020 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5641-0066 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION TWILIGHT OF NEWHAVEN: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN ANCIENT FISHING VILLAGE INTO A MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD In 1504, King James IV of Scotland founded the village of Newhaven, three miles north of Edinburgh on the shores of the Firth of Forth. Newhaven rose to prominence as the most well-known of Scotland’s fishing villages and reached its zenith in 1928 with the launching of its last ship, the Reliance. It was the beginning of the end of the Newhavener way of life, their twilight. This is the story of decline and domicide as economic forces and the City of Edinburgh Council transformed the ancient village of Newhaven into a modern neighborhood. This small fishing community, with its own unique culture and traditions, such as its famous fishwives, became just another tourist attraction in the Scottish capital. Newhaven began experiencing decline around 1928 due to four main factors: technological advances in fishing, overfishing, extreme pollution, and generational disinterest in perpetuating the Newhavener way-of-life. The City of Edinburgh Council’s urban renewal program forced the modernization of Newhaven between 1958 and 1978. This urban renewal program, together with the Scottish Presbyterian Church’s involuntary amalgamation of Newhaven’s two churches in 1974, ensured Newhaven’s destruction by joining with the decline of fishing to end the village’s distinctive economic, social, and political patterns. My research concludes with the efforts of the inhabitants of Newhaven the neighborhood to forge a new community in the post-1978 years and preserve a legacy of their past for future generations to enjoy. Newhaven joins the ranks of many other small places cleared away by those in power, proving that the Newhavens of the world are “especially vulnerable to extinction.” Learning from Newhaven’s pattern of destruction will help prevent future injustices against small communities. My research preserves Newhaven’s memory and documents the nature of its struggles through the use of oral histories, primary and secondary sources, and preserved media. KEYWORDS: Newhaven, Fishing, Village, Urban Renewal, Domicide, Fishwives Asa James Swan May 8, 2020 TWILIGHT OF NEWHAVEN: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN ANCIENT FISHING VILLAGE INTO A MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD By Asa James Swan Dr. Karen Petrone Director of Dissertation Dr. David Hamilton Director of Graduate Studies May 8, 2020 Date DEDICATION To my grandmother Christina Blair Ramsay Johnston, and all her fellow Newhaveners, for their incredible strength, courage, love, and hard work on land and the high seas, and for the fascinating village community they built over 500 years of living on the shores of the Firth of Forth. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing a Ph.D. while working full-time is challenging. Many people supported and encouraged me along the way, so I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to them. First, I want to thank God for being with me every step of this long journey. The Lord opened many doors and repeatedly positioned me to be at the right place at the right time during my research and writing. He also gave me the strength to keep going and finish. My amazing wife Allison, who is a next-generation leader in a world hungry for true servant leaders, also provided unconditional support, encouraging me and taking the lead on many tasks to free me up to be able to write. I love you, and our wonderful son, Levi, with all my heart, and I love walking on this journey with you as my wife and best friend. Next, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my committee members. My champion throughout this entire process has been my advisor, Dr. Karen Petrone. I could not have asked for a kinder, harder-working, or more brilliant mentor for this process. Thank you, Dr. Petrone, for the excellent feedback and constant encouragement to persevere. You are an incredible professor and scholar. I also want to thank Dr. Phil Harling, Dr. Akiko Takenaka, Dr. Morris Grubbs, and Dr. Lynn Phillips for consistently encouraging me and providing me with great advice to my many questions. I thoroughly respect and admire you all. My extended family also did everything they could to help me complete this degree. My fantastic parents, Drs. Terry and Cinda Swan, repeatedly baby-sat for days at a time, allowing me to work and sleep. They never doubted that I would finish, and they cheered me on throughout the entire process. My beloved sister, Eva Swan, also gave me iii many words of encouragement and provided good edits for my work. Allison’s parents, Ron and Amy Ball, and her brother, Jonathan, always said they believed in me. All members of my family prayed for me for years, and I am extremely grateful to them. Thank you so much for the many ways you served me and helped me finish. I love you all. I am blessed to live in a wonderful community of friends. Many of them found ways to help, like praying for me or sending me words of encouragement. To my best friends, Cory Whitehead, Josh James, Ryan Rembold, and Dr. Noah Goldberg, I thank you for being my devoted brothers who always make me laugh and help me be my best self. I love doing life with you. Also, thank you to Allison’s and my dear friends, Joe and Lesley Bilby, Dennis and Jennie Paiva, Caleb and AC LaFond, Dr. OJ Oleka and Jamie Oleka, Noah and Crystal Friend, Andrew and Lorran Hart Ferguson, Derek and Melanie Kriefels, Dr. Noelle Hunter, Dr. John Musick and Helen Musick, Gordon and Kathy Denmark, Jenni and Susannah Salsman, Chip and Katherine North, LaDonna Koebel, Dr. Drew Butcher and Michelle Butcher, Chad and Rebekah Meredith, and David Starbuck. Finally, I want to thank my small group guys, Isaac LaFond, PJ Fox, Chris Rogers, Zach Wedding, Jeremy Fothergill, and Jacob McGee, for cheering me on. To anyone else not listed who took the time to help me along the way, thank you! I love you, and I hope you enjoy reading about the twilight of Newhaven! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………….. iii INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………. 1 PART I: The Way It Was CHAPTER ONE: The Village ……………………………………………….… 32 CHAPTER TWO: The People …………………………………………………. 78 CHAPTER THREE: The Community ………………………………………... 148 PART II: The Twilight CHAPTER FOUR: The Decline …………………………………………...…. 229 CHAPTER FIVE: The Clearances ……………………………………………. 281 PART III: The Way It Is Today CHAPTER SIX: The Neighborhood ……………………………….….……... 347 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………….……………. 416 APPENDIX A: Maps of Newhaven ..………………………………………………… 431 APPENDIX B: List of Who’s Who ..…………………………………………………. 433 APPENDIX C: Pictures of Newhaven ..………………………………………………. 434 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………....…………………………………………….…. 439 VITA ………………………………....…………………………………………….…. 447 v Introduction “A Gesture to the Past”1 On a chilly, overcast afternoon on May 24, 2014, hundreds of people gathered near the slip, the name the locals use to refer to the concrete ramp going down into the water, of Newhaven Harbour.