Before Carnoustie; Panbride and Barry 8th to 17th Centuries

This lecture looks at the early history of the two parishes, Barry and Panbride, in which now the 18th century town of Carnoustie is situated.

Pictish and Gaelic place-names, medieval charters from the 12th - 16th century cartulary of Arbroath Abbey and early written accounts of the area are examined in order to throw light on this ancient and historically important part of Angus. This account covers the period from the 8th to the 17th century before the settlement of Carnoustie was founded and became a burgh in the 19th century."

Our speaker, Norman Atkinson, was born and bred in Arbroath. He was educated at Inverbrothock Primary School and Arbroath High School, where he was Geography Dux, Dundee College of Education and Leicester University.

After graduating in 1972, he taught at Hayshead School in Arbroath before joining Dundee Museum as an Education Officer in 1975. He moved to Angus District Council in 1977 as District Curator, a post which he held until Local Government reorganisation in 1996. He refurbished all five museums in Angus, and established Kirriemuir Museum, winning the Scottish Museum of the Year Award.

In 1996 he became Head of Cultural Services with Angus Council. He established Angus Archives at Restenneth, and redeveloped the Webster Memorial Theatre in Arbroath.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a Fellow of the Museums Association.

Norman retired in September 2013 after 41 years of service with local government. He was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2014 for services to the community in Angus. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Angus in 2016 and served until 2025.

Norman’s interests include Scottish, local and natural history, on which he has lectured and written extensively. He is a past President of the Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society, the Scottish Museums Federation, and the Pictish Arts Society.

He is currently Chair of the Friends of the William Lamb Studio, Vice President of the Forfar and District Historical Society, and a trustee of the Graham Hunter Foundation, which owns Restenneth.

Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be available for donation.

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