John Muir's Birthplace

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Content updated Sun, 31 Jan 1999 23:31:51 GMT

John Muir's Dunbar... [home]

Dunbar Parish Kirkyard - Gilrye Family Graves

Dunbar Parish Kirkyard - East

Hole in the Wall

Walking eastwards through the kirkyard you can see Dunbar's past written in the stones. Look out for some of the older memorials, carved by both hand and the elements. An old kirk on this site had been torn down in 1818 because it was too dark and draughty. However, the new building was too plain for some of the heritors (local landowners) and so it was altered again in the late 1890s.

Original apse

The apse or chancel at the east end is the work of an architect, John Hay, cousin to John Muir. They met once in Liverpool in 1893. When work was underway on the Church, Hay stayed with John's other cousin, Maggie Lunam, out at Westfield, the family home. Hay also redesigned the interior.

New apse

Unfortunately, all his work was lost in a recent fire. The new interior of the Church can be viewed when it is opened by the parishioners during the summer months.