The school formed at Woodbush in 1897 as Dunbar Burgh Public School served the children of Dunbar and the surrounding countryside for over fifty years.

'It was a frosty morning early in January when I became five and I was out as early as I had ever been and I didn't like that at all!'

By 1948 overcrowding meant that several classes were being taught in the local church halls. A new Primary School was built, followed in 1962 by the new Grammar School. But by the close of the century, once again, overcrowding and the prospect of larger intakes from planned developments at Lochend meant further changes.

'There were times when unexpected confinements occurred. One such took place in a cottage kitchen, amid piles of coal - Another took place in a tattie howkers' bothy'

By the late 1950's, Dunbar District was served by two medical practices: Drs. Cordin and Ritchie at 'Thorndean', and Drs. Anderson, Christopher and Seales based at 'Templelands'.

'Because her work brings her into contact with all age group in the community, she is known in person to practically everyone. This is certainly true about Nurse Mary Dunsire, one of the two nurses covering Dunbar and district.'

Originally built as an isolation hospital, the Battery Hospital was closed in Feb 1926. The Cottage Hospital , or 'Yorke Lodge', was opened in May 1927. It was combined with Belhaven Hospital in 1969 and closed in March 1973. In October 1906 the total expenditure on the hospital at Belhaven was reported by the Joint Hospital Sub Committee to have been £9474.6s.11d.

'The fire which has destroyed our beautiful church has burned its way into the hearts of us all - All our lives we have known that the Church is more than a building: it is a people. Now is the time to prove it.'

In the 1907 Burgh Register and Guide to Dunbar, seven churches were listed in the town. The Methodist Church is the oldest of its kind still standing on its original site, and Belhaven celebrated its 140th anniversary in 1985. By 1966 the Erskine and Abbey churches which had united in 1927 joined with the Old Parish Church. On the 3rd Jan 1987 an electrical fault set fire to the roof of the church. By next morning only the walls, tower and pillars remained.

'I used to get my milk and papers delivered so I wouldn't need to go out. I just used to sit and while away the day. But the centre has changed my life.'

The Day Centre began in the 1970s run by Molly Keith. By the end of the century to sessions of bingo, dominoes and Keep Fit were added trips to the theatre and holidays in Benidorm!