Dunbar () is a coastal town and former royal burgh on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It had a population of 10,777 in 2022.
The town got its name to an ecclesiastical and civil parish. The parish extends around east to west and is deep at its greatest extent, or , and contains the villages of West Barns, Belhaven.
Dunbar has a harbour, dating from 1574, and is home to the Dunbar Lifeboat Station, the second-oldest RNLI station in Scotland. The Dunbar Primary School and Dunbar Grammar School opened in the 1950s and 1960s respectively. The town is the birthplace of the explorer, naturalist, and influential conservationist John Muir.
History
Etymology In its present form, the name Dunbar is derived from its Gaelic equivalent (modern Scottish Gaelic: ), meaning "summit fort". That itself is probably a Gaelicisation of the Cumbric form , with the same meaning. This form seems to be attested as Dynbaer in the seventh-century Vita Sancti Wilfrithi.
Pre-history Excavations in advance of a housing development by CFA Archaeology, in 2003, found the remains of a later Bronze Age/early Iron Age (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 promontory fort. The early settlement was a principal centre of the people known to the Romans as Votadini.
Early history Dunbar was subsumed into Anglian Northumbria, 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 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 swimming pool, which indicates a settlement existed during this time.
The influential Northumbrian monk and scholar St Cuthbert, 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 and prison to Bishop Wilfrid. As a royal holding of the kings of Northumbria, the economy centred on the collecting of food renders 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).
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 in the ninth century. Scottish control was consolidated in the next century and when Lothian was ceded to Malcolm II after the battle of Carham in 1018, Dunbar was finally an acknowledged part of Scotland.Mack, Logan, (1924) "The Border Line - Solway Firth to the North Sea", Oliver & Boyd., p. 6
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 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 East Lothian and Berwickshire 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.Miller, James, The History of Dunbar, Dunbar, 1830, pp.84–89.
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.Exchequer Rolls, XII (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 56, 368.
Major battles were fought nearby in 1296 and 1650. The latter was fought during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms between a Scottish Covenanter army and English Parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell. 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 house believed to be from around the 9th millennium BC. 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 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 promontory fort previously identified during earlier excavations near the coast at Castle Park. The scale of the ditches indicated an impressive monument. A radiocarbon 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 ninth 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 cists, but the majority were simple shroud burials.
A dump or midden above the cemetery contained many elephant ivory off-cuts dating to the 18th or 19th century.
Geography Environment Dunbar has two promenades, forming part of the John Muir Way. 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.
Climate As with most of the British Isles, Dunbar has an oceanic climate (Köppen: 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.
Economy The town centre has several independent, locally-owned retail businesses, including gift shops, salons, cafes, a community-owned bakery, grocer, fishmonger, traditional sweet shop, chocolatiere, florists, garden centre 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 RNLI shops reflecting the town's maritime connection. On the periphery of the town is a garden centre with cafe, an Asda supermarket, a restaurant and hotel owned by Marston's, named the Pine Marten.
Tourism is part of the economy. Agriculture remains important but fishing has declined, although the harbour is still active, mainly landing shellfish. The main manufacturers are Tarmac, producing cement at Oxwell Mains (the only integrated cement plant in Scotland), and Belhaven Brewery, producing Scottish Ale.
Fishing By 1913, fishing from Dunbar was mainly focused on shellfish. The Annual Report of the Fishery Board for 1913 states: "The principal earnings are from crabs and lobsters. The other fisheries are not now of much importance.".
Education
The town itself is served by two primary schools: West Barns Primary School and Dunbar Primary School, It 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.
Dunbar Grammar School is a non-denominational state secondary school, with a wide catchment area including the surrounding areas and villages of East Linton, Stenton and Oldhamstocks. The school currently has a roll of 1,006 pupils.
Religion The town was within the Church of Scotland presbytery of Dunbar: Coldingham, Parish and Priory (notices of Cockburnspath), 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 and Oldhamstocks).
Today, there are several churches in Dunbar:
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.
Transport Dunbar railway station lies on the East Coast Main Line; it is served by four train operating companies: CrossCountry between and , via , and London North Eastern Railway between Edinburgh Waverley and , via and ScotRail to Edinburgh Waverley, via Musselburgh (stopping service) TransPennine Express between Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle.
East Coast Buses and Borders Buses operate local services to Edinburgh, Musselburgh and North Berwick.
The town is served by the A1, connecting at Spott roundabout to the south of Dunbar.
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, 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 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, 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. 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.