East Haven, Angus
East Haven 800
East Haven is the one of the earliest recorded fishing communities in Scotland dating back to 1214. When residents realised that the village was almost 800 years old they embarked on a major consultation exercise to identify priorities to celebrate and commemorate the event in
2014.
Consultation produced a long list of ideas and priorities. In summary, there was a desire to enhance the appearance of the village and create a lasting legacy with a theme of flowers and fishing boats. It was also felt that more could be done to improve the natural environment and promote East Haven's important heritage. After much debate about what might be achievable and which ideas should take priority, East Haven Residents Association (the forerunner of East Haven Together) decided to try and achieve on everybody's ambitions. Within 12 months the community was transformed and people travelled from across the world to join in celebrations.
Celebrating 800 Years
The first thing residents did was ask BBC Scotland to put East Haven on the map - literally!
Residents worked together to build a bridge The bridge is much loved by locals and named after the late Eric Duncan who built the original bridge.
The late Provost Helen Oswald planted a White Beam commemorative tree
A commemorative bench was installed. Picture; Cllr David Fairweather and the late Eric Duncan
123 panels of heritage bunting were created by people from all over the UK and further afield. Those above were created by the people of Maule in France
Even the road was painted. Courtesy of artist Bob Falconer
Commissioned a painting by local artist Brian Petrie
Planted 30 trees
Maritime and Heritage exhibition at CarnoustieLibrary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYSAv_qO94
Created a new Heritage Point with interpretation boards providing information about the history and natural environment of East Haven
Resident Gregor Beattie composed a piece of music called 'The Ha'en' which was played by Carnoustie Band at the EH800 festival
We were proud to welcome the Queen's Baton Relay in celebration of the Commonwealth Games which were held in Glasgow during our Octocentenary year. http://youtu.be/d2yoyYEhsSA
The Beechgrove Garden team helped residents develop coastal community gardens
Dry Stone walls were built
Jim and George accepting one of our EH800 paintings
Children from all 3 primary schools in Carnoustie created art works to celebrate the village history
Woodlands Carlogie Burnside
People wrote to us with their memories so we collated them in a book. The book is now in the National Library of Scotland
We held a market in recognition of the fact that East Haven was granted the Barony of rights in and the right to hold a market.
John Hill a former East Haven resident played the pipes when we welcomed the Queen's Baton Relay
Litter picks and beach cleans increased significantly in 2014 as we worked to make every area of the village clean and green
8 small flower boats were created. Each one representing 100 years in the life of the village
A homecoming and heritage festival was held. People who call East Haven home came from as far away as Australia.
A small boat was restored and filled with flowers in a display on the traffic island
Brain Petrie, Cartoonist and local artist designed this interpretation board to communicate an important event in history
The Village entered the Beautiful Scotland competition for the first time in 2014 and won SilverGilt and the VisitScotland Tourism Award.
A Fisher Wedding - August 2014
The wedding of Craig and Christina took place on the 23rd August 2014 at the East Haven Maritime and Heritage Festival. Craig's family, the Lyalls, are the oldest fishing family in East Haven dating back to at least the 1750's. Therefore it was appropriate that Craig who is also the last part time fisherman in the Ha'en married his fiance Christina in a ceremony in the Ha'en itself during our octocentenary year.
Craig and Christina incorporated a number of fisher wedding customs into their big day. One of these was a sand ceremony which involved the bride and groom mixing layers of sand along with a member of the community (Dareena Scott). The basis of this ancient ceremony is the binding of the bride and groom not just with each other but also the fishing community in which they will spend their married life.
The residents of East Haven wish Craig and Christina a long and happy life together.
