October 2025
The October 2025 talk in the new DDHS season was A Pub Crawl Around Dunbar Harbour and was given to a 40+ audience by DDHS member and volunteer Dr Pat Simpson, and her talk was very welll received. Dr Simpson provided 3 annotated slides and this will give members unable to attend a flavour of the talk. Photos and text below by Dr Simpson and links added by Dr James Herring.
The photo above shows Yelllowcraig which loooks over the harbour and was once the Masons Arms. It’s a category B listed building, meaning it is of regional importance. It dates back to the late 18th century. Peter Morrison, the owner of the Commercial Inn (now the Castle Hotel), saw a business opportunity in a building by the new harbour and bought it and called it Masons Arms. For many years his son, John, was the landlord. After Peter’s death, his wife Agnes became the owner and her son-in-law, Andrew Main, became the landlord. However, Andrew lost his licence for repeatedly selling or giving away alcohol on a Sunday. After Agnes died, her daughter, Agnes Morrison Main, inherited the property and it reverted back to being a private residence.
The Old Ship Inn (photo above) is also a category B listed building, dating back to the mid 18th century. It’s address is 1 Shore Road. It’s neighbouring building to the left, 3 Shore Road, is also category B listed. The next building, 5 Shore Road, is category C listed. In this case, its importance is in being part of a group. In 1905 the landlord lost his licence for serving alcohol to someone who was drunk. His successor ran the inn until his death in 1921. When his widow applied for a liquor licence, her application was denied. At that point, the inn became a private residence. The building was used as a seafood restaurant in the 1990s, first as the Starfish and then as the Cuckoo Wrasse. The building then deteriorated and ended up in a terrible state. Luckily, the building has been restored and is now a private house.
The Jersey Arms is now the Creel restaurant. The building dates back to the early 19th century and is category C listed, along with its neighbours. The entrance to the cellar at the front of the building is quite noticeable. In the 1870s , the building was owned by John Greenlaw, and his twin William ran a grocery business in the premises. Provisions were delivered through the hatch directly into the basement. When John died, William decided to use the building as a hotel and public house which he named Hotel Jersey Arms. In 1991, the Jersey Arms became, and still is, The Creel restaurant.
Opposite the Jersey Arms, a little bit further along the street, is an area used as a drying green( Photo above). The houses that surround it were built in the 1950s and were designed by the famous architect, Sir Basil Spence. This is the site of what was a public house called the Shepherds Arms. In the 1950s, it ceased the be a public house and became a business with flats above. It was demolished in the 1960s.
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