A BOUNDARY custom spanning 300 years will once again be celebrated in Musselburgh in July.

The Tollbooth bell, if in good working order, will toll to herald the start of the Riding of the Marches ceremony, which is held every 21 years.

This will rally all the participants and townspeople to gather at the Mercat Cross at 6 o'clock in the evening on Friday, July 29.

The historic tradition will then see Turf Cutter Iain Clark, protected by Town Champion Neil Wilson dressed in full armour, ride out to mark the ancient boundaries of the Burgh.

They will be accompanied by Assistant Turf Cutter Fiona Grant MacDonald – who is making history herself as the first female principal in the event's history – squires David Finlayson and Graham Bennett, and Halberdiers Allan Williams and Scott Robertson.

All are community stalwarts chosen specially for the occasion.

At each of the 12 boundary stations, Mr Clark cuts a sod from the ground and declares, in the presence of legal witness, 'It's a' oor ain' as he throws it over his shoulder. This done, they return to the Mercat Cross to report the burgh rights of property as reclaimed.

The birth of the Riding of the Marches could lie in the granting of the First Burgh Charter in 1124 by David I to the Monks of Dunfermline which endowed the burgh with status, rights and privileges. The church lost title to much of its property which, in the free-for-all that followed, reinforced the need for the rites of property element and the practical need for the Riding of the Marches.

Musselburgh's town records were destroyed in a fire at the Town House in 1544 and it was not until 1682 that there is a written record of the Riding of the Marches in the town council minutes. They announce the Riding with a horse race the next day.

Alastair Knowles, the event's chairman and the 1995 Town Champion, explained: “From then, ridings and records become increasingly more reliable and detailed. The festival became more expansive and celebratory reaching its present, week-long form certainly by 1935.”

There was an affray between the tailors and weavers in 1732 in a dispute over who had precedence in the procession. The weavers prevailed only to be beaten off by the butchers who came to the aid of the tailors.

The 1914 Riding was cancelled because of the outbreak of the First World War and so the 1919 event was named the 'Peace Riding'. The cavalcade assembled at the town hall and passed eastwards to: Ravenshaugh Burn; entrance to Edenhall Hospital; Cottage Lane; Rood Acre, Crookston Road; The Cross of Inveresk; south gate of the churchyard; Waulk Mill, The Grove; Dove Croft, old stone bridge; Bogle Hole; Common Myre on Newhailes Road; Pinkie Pans at the seashore off Edinburgh Road; and Brunstane Mill.

Mr Knowles said: “This celebration was a mixture thanksgiving for the end of the war, celebration of victory, remembrance and respect of the fallen, and a celebration of local industries which had grown significantly through the latter half of the 19th century.”

He said the 1935 event coincided with the Silver Jubilee of George V and was claimed by many Musselburgh 'worthies' to have been the greatest Riding of the Marches ever. Rugby internationalist Douglas Lowe, son of the Provost, was Town Champion, and Tom White Turf Cutter.

It led directly to the formation of The Honest Toun's Association, which has organised the annual Musselburgh Festival with the Honest Lad and Lass since 1936. The first were Jimmy Arthur and Ina Vass.

The late Bill Caird, Town Champion in 1956, wrote in his history of the event: “As a young man, I felt a great pride walking down the High Street and admiring all the decorations.”

History was made in 1956, with the Queen Mother and her sister Lady Elphinstone becoming Musselburgh's first lady Burgesses with full rights of citizenship in a special ceremony in Lewisvale Park. The Queen Mother also presented the Turf Cutter, Bobby Fairnie, with the ceremonial spade with which he was to dig the divot at 12 points in the burgh. She then witnessed the first digging of the turf. That year, 156 new Burgesses, including 59 women, were sworn in as Freemen of the Burgh.

The Riding of 1977 was brought forward to 1974 because of local government re-organisation. Musselburgh Town Council was replaced by East Lothian District Council in 1975. It was feared this event might be the last.

But a group of principals and burgh councillors, who had taken part in 1956 and 1974, were determined that the Riding of the Marches was too important to the heritage of Musselburgh to be lost to posterity.

With the backing of the council, they formed a Charitable Limited Company to organise and raise funds for the 1995 event.

Mr Knowles added: “Planning and organising 2016 is well under way and, as with all of the Ridings, there will be a blend of traditional pageantry, cultural, sporting and social celebration to engage with the whole population.”