“Coldingham Priory: Community Partnership and Conservation in the Scottish Borders” a short lecture by Dr Chris Bowles, Scottish Borders Council, at the Archaeological Research in Progress (ARP 2011) national day conference on Saturday 28th May 2011 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The half million pound project (HS and HLF funded) is nearing completion this year.  The initial spark for the project was a report in 2007 on the condition of the priory ruins which showed them to be in a poor state and a potential danger to the public.  Since the Priory and the Parish Church sit at the heart of the community it was felt that the ruins needed to be consolidated.  At the same time, the Friends of Coldingham Priory through the Adopt-a-Monument programme had initiated a community garden project to the south of the ruins.  A separate initiative to save the local post-office led to the possibility of converting the nearby public toilets into a post-office, coffee shop and interpretation centre.  Over time, the three projects came together and formed a unique approach to the site that has achieved the consolidation of the ruins, the creation of a new community garden, the conservation of the many important medieval and later carved stones from the Priory, on-site interpretation and the salvation of the town’s post-office with an interpretative twist.