Dunbar () is a town on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coast in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

in the south-east of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, approximately east of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and from the English border north of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. Dunbar is a former

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

, and gave its name to an ecclesiastical and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. The parish extends around east to west and is deep at its greatest extent, or , and contains the villages of

West Barns West Barns is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies 2 miles west of Dunbar and approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh. It is close to John Muir Country Park and Belhaven Bay. For many years, it was home to the West Barns Inn and i ...

, Belhaven, and East Barns (abandoned) and several hamlets and farms. Dunbar has a

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

dating from 1574 and is home to the

Dunbar Lifeboat Station Dunbar Lifeboat Station is located at Dunbar Harbour in Dunbar, a town and former royal burgh overlooking the mouth of the Firth of Forth, in the county of East Lothian, on the south-east coast of Scotland. A lifeboat station was first establ ...

, the second-oldest

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

station in

. The Dunbar Primary School and Dunbar Grammar School opened in the 1950s and 1960s. Dunbar is the birthplace of the explorer, naturalist, and influential conservationist

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

. The house in which Muir was born is located on the High Street, and has been converted into a museum. There is also a commemorative statue beside the town clock, and

John Muir Country Park The John Muir Country Park is a country park near the village of West Barns, which is part of the town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. It is named after John Muir, a famous naturalist and geologist who was born in Dunbar and later emigrated ...

is located to the north-west of the town. The eastern section of the

John Muir Way The John Muir Way is a continuous Long-distance trail, long-distance route in southern Scotland, running from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in the west to Dunbar, East Lothian in the east. It is named in honour of the Scottish conservation ...

coastal path starts from the harbour. One of the two campuses of Dunbar Primary School: John Muir Campus, is named in his honour. A sculpture, The DunBear, the focal point of the DunBear Park mixed-use development, was erected as a tribute to John Muir and his role in the establishment of

National Parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the USA.

History

Etymology

In its present form, the name ''Dunbar'' is derived from its

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

equivalent (modern

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: '), meaning "summit fort". That itself is probably a Gaelicisation of the

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

form ', with the same meaning. This form seems to be attested as ''Dynbaer'' in the seventh-century ''

Vita Sancti Wilfrithi The ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' or ''Life of St Wilfrid'' (spelled "Wilfrid" in the modern era) is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while i ...

''.

Pre-history

Excavations in advance of a housing development by CFA Archaeology, in 2003, found the remains of a later

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

early Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progr ...

(800–540 BC) person, indicating that people were living in the area during that time. To the north of the present High Street an area of open ground called Castle Park preserves almost exactly the hidden perimeter of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

promontory fort A promontory fort is a fortification, defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the Rampart (fortification), ramparts needed. The oldest kno ...

. The early settlement was a principal centre of the people known to the Romans as

Votadini The Votadini, also known as the ''Uotadini'', ''Wotādīni'', ''Votādīni'', or ''Otadini'' were a Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of the British Iron Age, Iron Age in Great Britain. Their territory was in what is now south-east Scotland and ...

Early history

Dunbar was subsumed into Anglian

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

as that kingdom expanded in the 6th century and is believed to be synonymous with the Dynbaer of Eddius around 680, the first time that it appears in the written record. The 2003 archaeological excavation also found a cemetery comprising 32 long-

cist In archeology, a cist (; also kist ; ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...

burials. Cemeteries of this type date from the early Christian period (AD 4th–8th centuries) and have been found in several areas around Dunbar, including to the east of Spott roundabout and at the Dunbar swimming pool indicated a settlement existed during this time. The influential Northumbrian monk and scholar

St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

, born around 630, was probably from around Dunbar: while still a boy, and employed as a shepherd, one night he had a vision of the soul of Saint Aidan being carried to heaven by angels and thereupon went to the monastery of Old Melrose and became a monk. It was then a king's

vill Vill is a term used in English, Welsh and Irish history to describe a basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit� ...

and prison to Bishop

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

. As a royal holding of the kings of

, the economy centred on the collecting of

food render Food render or food rent (Old English: ''foster'') was a form of tax in kind (Old English: ''feorm'') levied in Anglo-Saxon England, consisting of essential foodstuffs provided by territories such as '' regiones'', multiple estates or hundreds to ...

s and the administration of the northern (now Scottish) portion of that kingdom. It was the base of a senior royal official, a reeve (later

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Scottish conquest

Danish and Norse attacks on southern Northumbria caused its power to falter and the northern portion became equally open to annexation by Scotland. Dunbar was burnt by

Kenneth MacAlpin Kenneth MacAlpin (; ; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), and King of the Picts (848–858), of likely Gaelic origin. According to the traditional account, he inherited the throne of Dál Riada from his fa ...

in the 9th century. Scottish control was consolidated in the next century and when

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

was ceded to

Malcolm II Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda (; anglicised Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish Kings of that period. He was ...

after the

battle of Carham The Battle of Carham was fought between the English ruler of Bamburgh and the king of Scotland in alliance with the Cumbrians. The encounter took place in the 1010s, most likely 1018 (or perhaps 1016), at Carham on Tweed in what is now Nor ...

in 1018, Dunbar was finally an acknowledged part of Scotland. Throughout these turbulent centuries Dunbar's status must have been preserved because it next features as part of a major land grant and settlement by

Malcolm III Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

in favour of the exiled earl Gospatric of Northumbria (to whom he may have been full cousin) during 1072. Malcolm needed to fill a power vacuum on his south-eastern flank; Gospatric required a base from which to plot the resumption of his Northumbrian holding. The grant included Dunbar and, it can be deduced, an extensive swath of

and

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

or Merse (hence March). Gospatric founded the family of Dunbar. The head of the House of Dunbar filled the position of Earls of Dunbar and March until the 15th century.

Later history

The town became successively a baronial burgh and royal burgh (1370). Cultivated rabbit warrens on the links to the east and west of the town supplied food to the royal household. In 1589, storms and windblown sand destroyed the warren on the west links. Major battles were fought nearby in 1296 and 1650. The latter was fought during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

between a Scottish

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

army and English Parliamentarians led by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. The Scots were routed, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy and the occupation of Scotland. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Castle Park Barracks in 1855. The local band, Dunbar Royal British Legion Pipe Band, which was founded in 1976, has competed with success in national competitions. On 3 January 1987, a devastating fire destroyed much of the town's historic parish church: though the fire practically destroyed the monument and left only the outer walls remaining, the church has since been rebuilt with a modern interior.

Archaeology

During 2003, archaeological excavations at Oxwell Mains (Lafarge Cement Works) near Dunbar revealed the site of a

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

house believed to be from around the

9th millennium BC The 9th millennium BC spanned the years 9000 BC to 8001 BC (11 to 10 thousand years ago). In chronological terms, it is the first full millennium of the current Holocene epoch that is generally reckoned to have begun by 9700 BC (11.7 thousan ...

. The site suggests a domed building. Although considered extremely rare and a site of national importance this site is in the middle of an area planned for quarrying. An archaeological excavation undertaken by

Headland Archaeology Headland Archaeology Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RSK Group. Headland provides archaeological services and heritage advice to the construction industry. Company history Headland Archaeology Ltd was established in 1996. Headquartered ...

on a site previously occupied by the Captain's Cabin (a local landmark) within the area of Castle Park identified a sequence of archaeological features reflecting around 2,000 years of human activity. The earliest feature was a large ditch which may have formed part of the defences around a

previously identified during earlier excavations near the coast at Castle Park. The scale of the ditches indicated an impressive monument. A

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

date of between 50 BC and AD 70 was obtained from charcoal recovered from its infill. Much later a rectangular building was built over the top of the infilled ditch. Large quantities of burnt grain were recovered indicating that the building was a grain store that had been destroyed by fire. It was established that this was part of the Anglian settlement that had also been identified during earlier excavations. Between the 9th and 11th centuries the area was used as a cemetery. Archeologists excavated 76 articulated skeletons, and the disarticulated remains of a further 51 individuals were recovered. The articulated skeletons were all buried in the standard Christian fashion. A small number of the skeletons were in long

s, but the majority were simple shroud burials. A dump or

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

above the cemetery contained many elephant ivory off-cuts dating to the 18th or 19th century.

Climate

As with most of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, Dunbar has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'') with cool summers and mild winters. It is one of the sunniest and driest places in Scotland, with around 1,450 hours of sunshine and of rainfall annually. Temperature extremes range from in August 1990 to in January 1982.

Environment

Due to its geographical location, Dunbar receives less rain and more hours of direct sunshine per year than most places in Scotland. Dunbar has two promenades, forming part of the

. These provide an ideal viewpoint to see Dunbar's geological features including volcanic deposits and dykes seen from a high vantage point on the western clifftop promenade which passes the town's Public and Winterfield parks. There are two local beaches, the smaller East Beach next to the town featuring rock pools and the expansive Belhaven Beach on the outskirts. Lochend Woods are a community resource owned and managed by the Dunbar Community Woodland Group.

Economy

The town centre has several independent, locally owned retail businesses, including gift shops, salons, cafes, a community-owned bakery and grocer and fishmonger, traditional sweet shop, chocolatiere, florists, garden centre (located within Knox's Newsagents) and pet shop. The town also has a zero waste shop as well as several vintage and antique stores and two charity shops. There are two

stores reflecting the town's maritime connection. The High Street also features historic closes, two museums, and the "Backlands" garden and is a short walk to the scenic harbour area with its summertime food outlets. On the periphery of the town is a large garden centre with cafe, an Asda store accompanied by a drive-thru

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

built in late 2015, a restaurant and hotel owned by

Marston's Carlsberg Britvic is a British subsidiary of Carlsberg Group, created in January 2025 by the merger of Carlsberg's UK business (including the former Marston's plc breweries) and Britvic, acquired by Carlsberg Group in 2024. History In 2020, ...

named the Pine Marten. Local businesses are supported by the Dunbar Trades Association, now in its 75th year. Tourists are attracted to the walking and cycling routes in the area with other long-distance routes, the John Muir Way and Coast & Castles routes. Dunbar has many hotels, B & Bs, a hostel, and campsites as well as short term lets. Adventure activities include surfing, wakeboarding, coasteering, kite surfing, stand up paddleboarding (SUP), boat and fishing tours, as well as orienteering activities run by the East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service. Dunbar has a large indoor pool, many sports facilities, tennis courts, bowling greens, and facilities for petanque and putting. Agriculture remains important but fishing has declined, although the harbour is still active mainly landing shellfish. The main manufacturers are Tarmac, producing

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

at Oxwell Mains (the only integrated cement plant in Scotland), and Belhaven Brewery, producing Scottish Ale.

Transport

The town is served by the A1, connecting at Spott roundabout to the south of Dunbar, and Dunbar railway station which has links to Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland, as well to as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and stations along the north-east England corridor.

Sport

Football

Dunbar is home to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Dunbar United, who play at New Countess Park and compete in the . Dunbar is also home to the Dunbar United Colts Football Club, who play their home matches at Hallhill Sports Centre. The town briefly had a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

club, Dunbar Town, immediately before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which played in the East of Scotland League.

Golf

Dunbar Golf Club: Laid out in 1857 and redesigned by Old Tom Morris around 1894, Dunbar East Links is situated on the estuary of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. It is used as an Open Championship Qualifying Venue when the Open is played at Muirfield and all of the major Scottish Championships have been played here, The Scottish Amateur, Scottish Professional Championships, and Scottish Boys' Championship. The British Ladies and the Ladies Home Internationals have also enjoyed Dunbar as a venue. Dunbar is also home to Winterfield Golf Club.

Rugby

Dunbar is also home to Dunbar RFC. They play their home games at Hallhill Sports Centre and operate a 1st XV, 2nd XV and various school teams. The 1st XV play in the East Region League Division 2.

Basketball

Dunbar Grammar School hosts basketball training for many school and club squads. School teams often participate in the Scottish Cup competition for their appropriate level. The school also hosts training for the club Dunbar Dragons.

Lochend Woods parkrun

Every Saturday at 9:30am a free, mixed terrain 5 km is held at Hallhill Sports Centre. This event is open to anyone wanting to walk, jog or run 5 km at an event run by local volunteers. This event started on the 23rd March 2019.

Coastal Rowing

Dunbar Coastal Rowing Club has two St Ayles Skiffs - 'Volunteer' and 'Black Agnes'. They are frequently seen rowing off the coast towards Belhaven or Torness or even just fishing. In 2018 they rowed to all of the named islands in the

. In 2019 they are competing in the World Championships at

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

Wakeboarding

Foxlake in Dunbar was the first cable wakeboarding centre in Scotland. As well as wakeboarding it also offers a water assault course, ringo rides and segways. There is also a cafe in the centre.

Surfing and paddle boarding

Surfing is popular on Belhaven Bay. The Coast to Coast surf school is located next to Belhaven Bay. Paddle boarding is also popular on Belhaven Bay.

Education

The town itself is served by two primary schools, West Barns Primary School and Dunbar Primary School, and a non-denominational state secondary school, Dunbar Grammar School. Dunbar Grammar School also serves a wide catchment area which includes the surrounding areas and villages of

East Linton East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne, Scotland, River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, East Lothian, Haddington, with ...

Stenton Stenton () is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on the east by Spott and on the west by Whittingehame. The name is said to be of Saxon derivation. T ...

, and Oldhamstocks. There is also a small number of children who live in

Cockburnspath Cockburnspath ( ) is a village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar. Cockburnspath is the eastern terminus of the Southern Upland Way as well as the northern terminus of ...

that attend Dunbar Grammar. The school currently has a roll of 1,006 pupils. As of August 2024, John Johnstone is the Head Teacher, succeeding Claire Slowther. Prior to Slowther's ascent to Head Teacher from Deputy Head Teacher in August 2018, the school was run by longstanding Head Teacher Paul Raffaelli. Dunbar Primary School is split between two campuses, the original building which is now referred to as "John Muir Campus" taking Primary 1–3s along with nursery pupils, with the newer-built "Lochend Campus" taking Primary 4–7s.

Youth facilities

Many youth groups use the facilities of The Bleachingfield Community Centre.

Religion

Presbytery of Dunbar

The town Dunbar was within the Church of Scotland presbytery of Dunbar. *Coldingham, Parish and Priory (notices of Cockburnspath, etc.), A. Thomson (1908). *The History of Dunbar. James Miller (1859). *An Old Kirk Chronicle. Peter Hately Waddell, D.D. (1893). *The Churches of St Baldred. Rev. A. I. Ritchie (1880). *Saint Mary's, Whitekirk. Rev. E. B. Rankin (1914). *History of Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (for Cockburnspath, Oldhamstocks, etc.) Today, there are several churches in Dunbar. These are:

Church of Scotland

* Dunbar Parish Church, Queens Road * Dunglass Parish Church, Kirk Bridge * Belhaven Parish Church, Belhaven Road

Episcopal and Methodist Church

* St. Anne's Church, Westgate ** Methodist Church, Victoria Street

Catholic Church

* Our Lady of the Waves Church, Westgate

On film

Films which have shots of Dunbar include: *Dunbar (1958) 3 min, B&W, silent *Dunbar - The A1 Resort (1970) 20 min, colour, sound *Lothian Landscape (1974) 21 min, colour. Narrated by Gordon Jackson *Haunted locations featuring LPS on various TV outlets 2008–2018 *Outlander - John Muir Country Park, filmed camp scenes (2020–2022)

Notable buildings

* Chapel tower (with doocot conversion) of the Trinitarian Priory, Friarscroft, west of the town. Founded c. 1240 by Christiana de Brus, Countess of Dunbar. *

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the Dunbar Harbour, harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near th ...

, possibly from the 14th century, rebuilt and remodelled c.1490 and c.1520. Largely ruined with the aid of gunpowder (deliberately by Act of Parliament) in 1567 and with the whole north end removed with the aid of explosives (detonated using a specially-invented electrical system) for the new Victoria Harbour 1842–44. * Parish Church (see above) by James Gillespie Graham 1818–21 in local red sandstone from Bourhouse quarry.Buildings of Scotland:Lothian by Colin McWilliam * Parish Church Hall (1910), located behind the post office off the High Street, contains stained glass removed from

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

, Edinburgh, redundant there on the creation of the Thistle Chapel. * Abbey Free Church (1850) by Thomas Hamilton. * St Anne's Episcopal Church (1889) by

Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architecture, Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. ...

. * Dunbar Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist Church in Scotland, having been erected in 1764. Both John Wesley and Charles Wesley were trustees of the Society in Dunbar and John preached at the Methodist Church on 21 occasions. *

Dunbar Town House The Dunbar Town House, also known as Dunbar Tolbooth, is a municipal structure in the High Street in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. The building, which currently operates as a museum, is a Category A listed building. History The first municipa ...

, High Street, (c.1550). * Mercat Cross (c.1911) created from medieval fragments to replace lost original sited opposite West Port. Now beside Town House. *

Lauderdale House Lauderdale House is an historic house, now run as an arts and education centre, based in Waterlow Park, Highgate in north London, England. History Lauderdale House was one of the finest English country house, country houses in Highgate and was ...

(1790–92), designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

and executed by his brother John after Robert's death; built round the carcass of Dunbar House (c.1730). *

Railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(1845) but altered. * Cromwell Harbour, very old fishing harbour which dates to 1600s. * Ordance Survey Tidal Gauge - Beneath the Castle Rock at Victoria Harbour is a small castellated building, now the Harbourmaster's office, but originally built in 1913 by the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

and used as part of a network that was used to establish the 'Mean Sea Level' that is used as the reference benchmark for all heights 'above sea level' in the UK. * Dunbar Battery (1781) was built to protect the town from privateers in the 18th century and restored in 2017 by Dunbar Harbour Trust with improvements made to access and a new outdoor amphitheatre sensitively inserted within the defensive walls. The Dunbar Battery also features "Sea Cubes", a public artwork by Scottish artist Donald Urquhart. The project won the ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...

'' Architecture Awards 2017 for the Best Budget Project of the Year and was Commended in the

Scottish Civic Trust The Scottish Civic Trust is a registered charity. Founded in 1967, and based in the Category A- listed Tobacco Merchant's House in Glasgow, the Trust aims to provide "leadership and focus in the protection, enhancement and development of Scotlan ...

My Places Awards 2018.

Notable people

Pre 1000

* Saint

(633–709) - 7th to early 8th century English

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

; imprisoned for a time in Dunbar * Saint

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

(634–687) - early

and evangelist of the

n church,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

, at a time when

was a leader in promoting and spreading the message of Christianity in a British and wider European context and, he was, according to some authors, born in and initially brought up in Dunbar to a local noble family, before being fostered in the Melrose area with a related or allied family as per the traditions of his class and time.Battiscombe, C. F. (ed), The Relics of Saint Cuthbert, Oxford University Press, 1956

1001-1500

* Black Agnes (1312–1369) - Countess of Dunbar and heroine of local folklore *

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots Joan Beaufort ( 1404 – 15 July 1445) was Queen of Scots from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I. During part of the minority of her son James II (from 1437 to 1439), she served as the regent of Scotland, the first dowager Queen of ...

(1404–1445) - wife of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

James I of Scotland James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III of Scotland, Robert III and ...

, who served as the

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

in the immediate aftermath of his death and during the minority of her son

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

, before being engulfed in a power struggle with members of the nobility. In desperation she took refuge in

where she was subsequently besieged by her opponents, in which place and circumstances she died in the year 1445. *

Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (7 August 1485), was a Scottish prince and the second surviving son of King James II of Scotland. He fell out with his older brother, King James III, and fled to France, where he unsuccessfully sought help. In 1 ...

(1454–1485) - second son of

and

Mary of Guelders Mary of Guelders (; c. 1434/1435 – 1 December 1463) was Queen of Scots by marriage to King James II. She ruled as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463. Background She was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Clev ...

, was

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on younger sons in the Scotland, Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of House of Stuart, Stuart and House of Hanover, Hanover. History ...

, Earl of March, Lord of Annandale and

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and the

Warden of the Marches The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action. They were also responsible, al ...

, which altogether gave him an impressive power base in the east and west borders, centred on Dunbar Castle which he owned and lived in. He attempted to seize control of Scotland from his brother

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburg ...

, but was ultimately unsuccessful. *

John Stewart, Duke of Albany John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany (8 July 1482 – 2 June 1536) was the regent of the Kingdom of Scotland and the count of Auvergne and Lauraguais in France. Early life John was a son of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, son of King James I ...

(1482–1536) - de facto ruler of Scotland and important soldier, diplomat, and politician in a Scottish and continental European context, was the only son of the above

, and managed where his father had failed and became

, while he also became

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

and Lauraguais in France and, lastly, inherited from his father the position of Earl of March, which allowed him to likewise use

as his centre of power in Scotland.

1501-1900

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was accused of the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord ...

(1534–1578) - notorious third and last husband of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, and owner of Dunbar Castle *

Alexander Dow Alexander Dow (1735 or 1736 – 31 July 1779) was a Scottish Orientalist, writer, playwright and army officer in the East India Company. Life He was a native of Crieff, Perthshire. Alexander Dow's father worked at the Customs at Dunbar. The yo ...

(1735–1779) - influential Orientalist, author and British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

army officer; resident and educated in Dunbar for part of his boyhood * Robert Wilson (1803–1882) - one of the inventors of the ship's

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

, born and bred in Dunbar from a local family * Sir Anthony Home (1826–1914) - British soldier who was notable as a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

and the eventual achievement of the rank of

Surgeon-General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

; born and bred in Dunbar from a local family *

(1838–1914) - important conservationist, geologist, environmental philosopher, and pacifist; one of the founders of the United States system of National Parks and

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

, born in Dunbar * Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman (1847–1937) - major shipowner and maverick Liberal politician, born in Dunbar to parents from Dunbar * General Sir Reginald Wingate (1861–1953) - 1st Baronet, army officer and colonial governor, 'the maker of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

Governor-General of the Sudan The governors of pre-independence Sudan were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of Turco-Egyptian Sudan and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, an area equivalent to modern-day Sudan and South Sudan. List (Dates in italics indicat ...

(1899–1916), British High Commissioner in Egypt (1917–1919), commander of military operations in the Hedjaz (1916–1919), for many years the senior general of the British army, long-time resident in Dunbar * Jack Hobens (1880–1944) - Scottish-American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

* Dr James Wyllie Gregor (1900–1980) - botanist, born in Dunbar

1901-present

William Alexander Bain William Alexander Bain FRSE DSc (20 August 1905 – 24 August 1971) was a Scottish pharmacologist, best known for his early work with antihistamine drugs. Early life He was born in Dunbar in East Lothian, the son of Grace Martin Brough and ...

(1905–1971) - pharmacologist * Sadie Aitken (1905–1985) - Scottish actor, theatre manager, film critic for BBC *

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...

(1914–2003) - renowned English historian who boarded at Belhaven Hill School * Davy Henderson (b. 1962) - Scottish musician ( The Fire Engines, The Nectarine No. 9) * Maria Lyle (b. 2000) - para-sprinter, won medals at both the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games

Twin towns

Dunbar is twinned with * Lignières, France. *

Martinez, California Martinez (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city in and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strai ...

, United States.

Gallery

File:Bass Rock from Dunbar.jpg, Bass Rock from Dunbar File:Coastal East Lothian - A Windy Day at Belhaven (geograph 2435863).jpg, The Bridge to Nowhere, with The Bass and the

North Berwick Law North Berwick Law, sometimes abbreviated to Berwick Law, is a conical hill which rises conspicuously from the surrounding landscape (this is the definition of the Scots language, Lowland Scots word "law"). It overlooks the East Lothian town of N ...

File:Dunbar-John Muir beach.JPG, View towards Belhaven Bay (John Muir Country Park) with North Berwick Law and Bass Rock in the distance

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Dunbar's main website

Activities in Dunbar.Dunbar & District Historical SocietyAspects of tourism in Dunbar since the 1950sDanny MacAskill x adidas Outdoor : Welcome to the Family
{{Authority control Towns in East Lothian Ports and harbours of Scotland Royal burghs Seaside resorts in Scotland Port cities and towns of the North Sea Populated coastal places in Scotland