John Muir's Birthplace

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Content updated Tue, 25 Aug 1998 18:14:32 GMT

John Muir's Dunbar... [home]

109 - 113 High Street

Corn Exchange Close

Silver Street

[C] Just before the Town House turn down Corn Exchange Close [5]. This area was 'Burgh land'. In John's day the Burgh was virtually autonomous, responsible for all everyday life. For many years the Burgh Schools were here - accommodation for several hundred children. Some years before John was born they were moved to the East Links on a 'green field' site where expansion was possible. Not many years after the Muirs emigrated, the corn market was installed here and the building is still being used by local societies and clubs. Take the narrow passage which leads downhill to Castle Street. Many of John's contemporaries would have lived in tiny cot-houses like one seen on the right. As this area was owned by the town it was selected to house the Municipal Gas Company (although after a while the gas-works was moved some way out of town); the close also housed police residences and the Burgh cells. Perhaps this was where John

'...made guns out of gas-pipe, mounted them on sticks of any shape, clubbed our pennies together for powder, gleaned pieces of lead here and there and cut them into slugs, and, while one aimed, another applied a match to the touch-hole...'