What are now the church halls were originally the parish school and schoolmaster’s house. Here generations of ‘Dingers’ were educated. There was also a Free Church school, at the corner of Newtown Street and Willis Wynd, opened in 1846. After the state took-over responsibility for education in 1874 and Duns Primary School opened in 1880, the parish school building was converted for use as our Sunday School and halls, while the Free Church school became a house and masonic hall – it still carries carvings of the Burning Bush and headings for separate ‘Girls’ and ‘Boys’ doors.
In 1864 the parish church manse was rebuilt in grand baronial fashion. Sadly this bold if eclectic structure was demolished around 1992 to allow the construction of new housing. Many streets and homes in Duns have names with church connections, including Glebe Park, Teindhillgreen, Manse Gardens, Kirkfield, Boston Court, Trinity Park and Church Square.