The present church, designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, was opened for worship on 21 May 1890, although an Episcopal community had been meeting in the Corn Exchange from 1874. It's a good example of the Victorian Neo-Gothic style, with some beautiful woodwork and stained glass. Unlike many Gothic buildings, it has a marvellous feeling of light, due mainly to its large, clear glass west window.
The design of the roof interior represents the
hull of a boat to reflect Dunbar's fishing heritage. It was
described by the late Eric Stevenson as the best timber roof in
Scotland.
St. Anne's includes a very fine organ built by
Henry Willis (1812-1901). At the time of its installation, George
Martin, the organist of St Paul’s Cathedral said, “a more perfect
instrument of its size could not be built, both as regards to
workmanship and quality of tone”.
Built in 1764, Dunbar is Scotland's oldest
Methodist church and was a favourite of John Wesley. Both John and
his brother Charles were Trustees, and John preached at the Dunbar
chapel on 21 occasions.
In his diary entry on 17 May 1770 he wrote “In
the evening I preached at the new house at Dunbar, the cheerfullest
in all the Kingdom”.
The church features Victorian stained glass and
an oak pulpit from St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. It's not clear
how they ended up in Dunbar. One theory is that the glass was
rejected by the cathedral because of a spelling error on one
of the windows. See if you can spot it!
In 2019 the church building passed into private ownership after 250 years as a centre for worship.
Copyright ©2020, All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Dunbar is a Scottish Charity, SC010950, regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).