Rev David Dutton

I was born in 1947 in Jarrow, Co. Durham, where I attended the local grammar school. After studying Social Administration at Dundee University, I trained for the ministry at Westminster College, Cambridge and, in 1973, I was ordained a minister of word and sacrament in the United Reformed Church. As part of my post-ordination training I obtained a BA from the Open University. After serving in pastorates in Northumberland and Cleveland, in 1980, I moved to the Church of Scotland. For six years I was minister of the parishes of Westray and Papa Westray, in the North Isles of Orkney and for twenty-two years minister at the High Kirk in Stranraer. For most of my time in Galloway I served as Clerk to the Presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer. Since retiring, in 2008, I have been pursuing my interest in church history. In 2018 I graduated from the University of Wales Trinity St David with a Master of Theology Degree in Church History (distinction) and I am currently studying for an MPhil at Stirling. I am married with a grown up son and two grandchildren.

I am interested in church history in general and the history of the church in Haddington in particular. My master’s dissertation was entitled ‘Minister of the Gospel at Haddington: the Life and Work of the Reverend John Brown (1722-1787)’. I am currently working on a dissertation, which has the working title, ‘A Singular Solace; the Ecclesiastical History of Haddington from1560 to 2000.’ The aim of my research is to provide an integrated account of the various denomination in the burgh since the Reformation. Much has been written about St. Mary’s, which has a long history going back to Saxon times, but not a lot has been published about the Episcopalian, dissenting and Roman Catholic congregations that emerged from the 18th century onwards. I hope to demonstrate the extent of ecclesiastical diversity in the town.