The earliest reference to the Skinning industry in Haddington dates from the sixteenth century. However, skinners formed one of Haddington's Incorporated Trades Guilds from medieval times. They occupied premises on the outskirts of town where they cured animal hides and made leather- a smelly process.

This is a watercolour painting of the River Tyne. The buildings of the Nungate Tannery are visible on the far bank of the River. The painting is signed and dated, 'D.N.S. 1950'.

Dorothea Nimmo Smith painted this watercolour of the Nungate Tannery in the year 1950, when the building was part of the Nungate Brewery. A fire destroyed the Tannery in 1969 and the modern housing development of Tyne Court was built on the site during the 1970s.