Winter Talks – The Importance of Being Ruined, Thursday 20 March 2025

The Importance of Being Ruined. A talk by archeologist Olwyn Owen

We will conclude our well-received series of Winter Talks on Thursday 20 March with The Importance of Being Ruined – an archaeologist’s guide to digging deeper into the archaeology beneath our streets in North Berwick and the surrounding area.

North Berwick is a very special place – famed for its beautiful beaches, charming High Street, fabulous golf courses, the Bass Rock and its gannets. But it’s also a very historic place with a rich and fascinating heritage.

North Berwick from the air
Photograph ©Robin MacEwan

© Ian Goodall

Towns have always had to change and adapt to remain vital and viable, and past changes and adaptations are written into our townscapes which lie beneath the streets and within the fabric of the buildings which host our daily lives. North Berwick’s ruined monuments are an important part of the story and help us to understand the shape and character of the town today. This talk will explain how and why we protect archaeological sites and monuments, and it will explore the archaeology of North Berwick and its monuments, with a focus on the ruins in our midst such as the ruined nunnery, Castle Hill, the mills in the Glen and St Andrew’s Kirk Ports – and why they matter.

Olwyn’s talk will commence at 7.30pm in the Chapel area, St Andrew Blackadder Church, St Andrew Street, North Berwick, and is open to all. Entry is Free for Members of the Coastal Communities Museum, and by £5 donation for Non-Members. The talk will be followed by some light refreshments.