Dunbar Collegiate Church

Dunbar Collegiate Church stands on Queen’s Road just south of Dunbar town centre in East Lothian. It occupies the same site as the present parish church and has done so since the 12th century. The first church here, dedicated to St Bega, was recorded in 1176. In 1342 the Earl of Dunbar turned it into Scotland’s first collegiate church. Eight prebendaries served parishes around Dunbar including Spott, Belton and Chirnside. The church survived the Reformation and became the town’s reformed parish church. By the 19th century it had been rebuilt twice, first in 1779 and then again between 1819 and 1821. A fine monument inside remembers George Hume, Earl of Dunbar, who served James VI and I as treasurer. The building shows traces of earlier styles after repairs in the late 19th century. Inside the visitor finds a nave and aisle with five stone arches on each side. The east end has a semi-octagonal apse for the communion table. Stained glass in the angular windows recalls the Hay and Drysdale families. A gallery at the west end holds an organ chamber and pulpit. The tower vestibule room serves as an elders’ vestry. The church still provides space for worshippers and stands as a quiet witness to Dunbar’s long religious history.