The Society has a programme of speakers on local history from September to March.
Past talks
- Mony coistly abilyeaments for hir body.The clothes of Mary and her court – A Talk by Jenn Scott
October 2026 The latest talk in the 2026-2027 DDHS season took place on 13th October and was presented by historian Jenn Scott – title above. The speaker sent 3 slides and some annotation. Addition links, which open in… Continue reading Mony coistly abilyeaments for hir body.The clothes of Mary and her court – A Talk by Jenn Scott - A Tribute to Local Historian Gordon Easingwood
Dunbar has lost one of its longstanding local historians following the death of Gordon Easingwood, who was DDHS chairman for 23 years. During that time, Gordon represented the Society at meetings and events in East Lothian. He worked… Continue reading A Tribute to Local Historian Gordon Easingwood - Stained Glass in East Lothian Churches from an Art History Perspective: A Talk by Tim Richards
September 2026 The first talk of the new DDHS season was given by Tim Richards who has given us 3 slides from his talk, with some annotation for each. Additional text and links, which open in a new… Continue reading Stained Glass in East Lothian Churches from an Art History Perspective: A Talk by Tim Richards - Three spectacular Dunbar fires
July 2026 This month, Dr James Herring features 3 significant fires that have occurred in Dunbar – one store, one church. and one hotel. The photo above, one of a number donated to DDHS by Ray Scoble, shows… Continue reading Three spectacular Dunbar fires - DDHS AGM Presentations 2026April 2026 This year’s AGM took place in the Town House on Tuesday 14th April 2026. At the conclusion of the AGM business, Committee members each gave a short presentation. Text by Pauline Smeed and Dr James Herring,… Continue reading DDHS AGM Presentations 2026
- James Hutton: The Genius of Time – A Talk by Ray Perman
March 2026 The final talk of the DDHS 2025-2026 season was given by Ray Perman FRSE who is a biographer of the famous geologist James Hutton. Ray Perman is an accomplished speaker and delivered and informative and intriguing… Continue reading James Hutton: The Genius of Time – A Talk by Ray Perman - From Brochures to Websites:Promoting Dunbar and its Hotels 1895 – 2026 – a talk by Dr James HerringFebruary 2026 The penultimate talk in the DDHS 2025-2026 season was delivered by Dr James Herring and despite a wet, cold and windy evening, there was a very good turnout of members for the talk. Photos and text… Continue reading From Brochures to Websites:Promoting Dunbar and its Hotels 1895 – 2026 – a talk by Dr James Herring
- The Italians Who Settled in East Lothian in the Early Twentieth Century: Friend or Foe? A talk by Mary Contini OBEDecember 2025 The final DDHS talk of 2025 was given by author and director of Valvona and Crolla Ltd Mary Contini and the presentation – informative, educational and entertaining – was very well received by a large turnout… Continue reading The Italians Who Settled in East Lothian in the Early Twentieth Century: Friend or Foe? A talk by Mary Contini OBE
- The Playhouse Cinema: a Talk by Leslie Hooper
November 2025 The November 2025 talk was given by Leslie Hooper, the son of John Hooper, who was manager of the Playhouse from 1957-72. While focussing on 1957-1964, the talk briefly covered the cinema’s history up to that… Continue reading The Playhouse Cinema: a Talk by Leslie Hooper - A Pub Crawl Around Dunbar Harbour: A Talk by Dr Pat Simpson
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… Continue reading A Pub Crawl Around Dunbar Harbour: A Talk by Dr Pat Simpson - AGM 2025: Presentations by Pauline Smeed and Gordon Easingwood
May 2025 Following on from the last post, this month we look at examples from a joint presentation by DDHS Chair Gordon Easingwood and Secretary Pauline Smeed. Text by Pauline Smeed and links by Dr James Herring This… Continue reading AGM 2025: Presentations by Pauline Smeed and Gordon Easingwood - AGM 2025: A Short Presentation by Dr James Herring
April 2025 The DDHS AGM took place on the 8th April 2025 in the Council Chambers in Dunbar Town House. The successful meeting was followed by short presentations by Secretary Pauline Smeed, Chairman Gordon Easingwood and committee member… Continue reading AGM 2025: A Short Presentation by Dr James Herring
Meetings take place in Dunbar Town House on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 7pm (Speaker at 7.30pm).