New Inn Dunbar

The A list in Dunbar has some real surprises in store! The co-op and pharmacy, in the foreground, are C-listed, but you would never have guessed given the recent changes to the exterior of that building.

The New Inn was a Barracks (First World War)Barracks (20th Century)Flats(S) (19-20th Century)Inn (Period Unassigned)Retirement Home (20th Century), and is now social housing. The construction is in the distinctive local red sandstone and, apparently was intended to compete with the George Hotel, sometime towards the end of the 18th century, funded by the Earl of Lauderdale. The archway to the side frames an attractive view of Traprain Law, but otherwise this A lister is missed by the passing tourist despite the grand Doric porch. Today it towers over its neighbour, a diminutive 1900s Post Office building, disposed on one floor, which isn’t on the schedule at all, a mistake to my mind.

Parked vehicles and other modern intrusions and obstructions (such as the CCTV and the overkill lighting scheme) reduce the quality of the views of the fascinating hotchpotch of building styles and the overall streetscape.

Can you spot The Dunbar A-lister?