Newhaven Clearances

Newhaven is known for its lighthouse, its hard-working fishwives and Hill and Adamson’s photos. It’s easy to look at Newhaven and think how beautiful and peaceful the harbour and the village looks now but the truth is every town, city and village has a hidden past including Newhaven and within Newhaven history, there is a subject which has been subtly swept under the proverbial rug.

Newhaven used to be a thriving community. There were shops, pubs and the streets used to be filled with children playing games. Down by the harbour, the fishing industry was booming. Men went off in their boats to get the catch of the day and the women, dressed in their traditional blue working attire, gutted the fish, sorted them out into baskets and carried them all the over Edinburgh and even as far as Falkirk. Everyone knew everyone and people left their doors open as that was how safe it was.

In the 1960s/early 70s, Edinburgh Council decided to ‘renovate’ Newhaven, to create more modern housing. They forcibly moved everyone out and rebuilt the entire streets of Newhaven, which took several years to complete. What made it unfair was when the Council was allocating houses, they never gave priority to those who lived there previously, which meant only 30% of Newhaveners actually moved back. It was shocking and unfair. It has taken over fifty years to re-establish a sense of community.

The Council thought it was providing people with better housing – and it was - but it tore the place apart, tore people away from their roots, their history, their identity.

When I first heard about this historic event, I was horrified. I couldn’t imagine the sadness and frustration that was felt by the community. What makes it even more frustrating is that no one felt able to talk about it and the incomers were less interested in the local history.

In this series, I have used some of the photographs taken during ‘the clearances’ by George Liston and I’ve recreated them in the exact locations. The aim was to show the comparison between the past and present. Whilst some buildings show similarities, others are completely unrecognisable, completely changed.

Sometimes I think about it and wonder ‘If the Clearances never happened, would there be a bigger interest in Newhaven’s history? Would Newhaven’s culture and identity be more preserved?’ but then I realise that without this event, I wouldn’t be so passionate about preserving Newhaven’s history. On one hand, It tore people from their homes but on the other, it has made me who I am today.

People need to know about their local heritage, about where they live and come from. Both the good and the bad. It helps us define who we are.