{"id":1547,"date":"2013-11-24T11:21:32","date_gmt":"2013-11-24T11:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abbeylandsresidents.org.uk\/?p=1547"},"modified":"2014-02-19T00:30:53","modified_gmt":"2014-02-19T00:30:53","slug":"bedlam-in-dunbar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/bedlam-in-dunbar\/","title":{"rendered":"Bedlam in Dunbar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG-20130912-00040\"<\/a>Those in the know, will have heard of the special relationship that exists between Dunbar’s Abbey Church and its big sister the\u00a0Bedlam Church<\/a>\u00a0in nearby Edinburgh,\u00a0both built in the mid 1800s by the architect Thomas Hamilton for the Free Church. \u00a0More elegant and refined, and altogether much better loved, Bedlam is looking smarter than ever, as its very expensive\u00a0makeover was completed earlier this year. Even the railings have been rejuvenated and look splendid. I recommend you take a look.<\/p>\n

As in the fairy tale, the Abbey Church is getting a different sort of treatment. Neglect. During a recent storm one of the pinnacles was taken down as it rocked perilously above. There seems to be no immediate prospect for this building as the bureaucrats and architects argue over technicalities. Is it derelict – is an economic restoration now even possible? Meantime new plans are also running into the sand.<\/p>\n

Even if you don’t like the building – and I don’t care much for gothic churches – it is locally important. I’d argue that the prominent position and the interesting blend of rustic rubble walls (check out the rear – it is bloody marvellous, as the Bishop of Truro once of observed!) combined with the ashlar frontage, do set it apart from its big sister and make it worthy of attention. It is hard to conceive a replacement that would not completely detract from the Conservation Area.<\/p>\n

If the private development proposals do not find favour, we probably need to find a different commercial use for the building. As I see it we lost an opportunity for an iconic piece of imaginative modern architecture, as a single private dwelling. Such a development, with the appropriate conditions in place (listed building consents that is), could have wrenched Dunbar from its relative obscurity in darkest East Lothian to the centre stage. East Lothian is far from being preserved in aspic, but is increasingly riddled with ugly housing developments which are mostly unsustainable and utterly\u00a0unimaginative – thanks mostly to volume builders, meanwhile the Conservation Area in Dunbar is being progressively eroded by a tyranny of small decisions and weak enforcement.<\/p>\n

But maybe we could come up with an audacious alternative, architecturally and aesthetically, and an imaginative solution that stimulates the local economy? A boutique hotel? A hostel for walkers? An emporium and market for the growing band of upcyclers and purveyors of vintage (check out the Old Dairy in Ford<\/a>\u00a0for inspiration)? Bedlam in Dunbar? Yes please.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those in the know, will have heard of the special relationship that exists between Dunbar’s Abbey Church and its big sister the\u00a0Bedlam Church\u00a0in nearby Edinburgh,\u00a0both built in the mid 1800s by the architect Thomas Hamilton for the Free Church. \u00a0More elegant and refined, and altogether much better loved, Bedlam is looking smarter than ever, as … Continue reading Bedlam in Dunbar?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-opinion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":325,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/bedlam-theatre-and-abbey-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":0},"title":"Bedlam Theatre and Abbey Church Dunbar","author":"templar","date":"June 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"What does the Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh have in common with the Abbey Church in Dunbar? Not much you'd think. Bedlam\u00a0is home to a thriving theatre company and is the oldest fully student-run theatre in Britain. It has a\u00a090 seat theatre and the Fat Cat Caf\u00e9 are open for performances\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2012\/06\/Abbey-Church-Front-Rear-Elevations-Before.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":648,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/local-review-body-visit-the-abbey-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":1},"title":"Local Review Body visit the Abbey Church","author":"templar","date":"August 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Consultees and Interested Parties have been invited to a site visit, which will take place this afternoon, Wednesday 29 August at 2.30pm. \u00a0Previously on Abbeylands I wrote about the vagaries of the\u00a0Planning Application No 11\/00704\/P (Derelict Church Converted to a 5 Bedroom House and Walled Garden at Abbey Church, Dunbar).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1811,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/my-beautiful-backyard\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":2},"title":"A beautiful yard?","author":"templar","date":"April 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Those of you that have been paying attention will know about the progressive decline of the Abbey Church in Dunbar and the extended planning shenanigans, which ended up in a failed appeal to establish an audacious 5 bed modern home inside the shell of the B listed church. Graham Armet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0004_Layer-12.png?fit=801%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0004_Layer-12.png?fit=801%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0004_Layer-12.png?fit=801%2C598&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0004_Layer-12.png?fit=801%2C598&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2637,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/the-decline-and-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":3},"title":"The decline and fall","author":"@ourlocality","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A potted history of the Abbey Church courtesy of Buildings at Risk December 1994: The church is no longer in ecclesiastical use, although roof repairs have been carried out recently as the building continues to be used for temporary non-ecclesiastical uses. September 1995: The church appears for sale. January 1999:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0000_Layer-4.png?fit=1010%2C725&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0000_Layer-4.png?fit=1010%2C725&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0000_Layer-4.png?fit=1010%2C725&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2014\/04\/abbey_0000_Layer-4.png?fit=1010%2C725&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":473,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/dunbars-lost-history-in-the-making-abbey-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":4},"title":"Dunbar’s lost history in the making: Abbey Church","author":"templar","date":"June 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Previously on Abbeylands I wrote about the plans for the Abbey Church to be converted into a 5 bedroom, 3 story home. Listed Building Consent was refused earlier this year. At exactly the time I was writing, the architect Grahame Armet submitted an appeal (3 June 2012). The substance of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2012\/06\/Abbey-Church-Front-Elevation-Before.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":923,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/abbey-church-listed-building-consent-appeal-rejected\/","url_meta":{"origin":1547,"position":5},"title":"Abbey Church Dunbar: Listed building consent appeal rejected","author":"templar","date":"April 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Graeme Armet recently obtained planning permission to modify the Abbey Church Dunbar and convert it into a 5 bed-roomed home late in 2012, but it was a painful and tortuous process.\u00a0 Yet receiving the planning permission turned out to be a pyrrhic victory as there was another more substantial hurdle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abbey Church"","block_context":{"text":"Abbey Church","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/abbey-church\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Abbey-Church-Front-Elevation-After","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2012\/06\/Abbey-Church-Front-Elevation-After-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}