276 REPORT OF MEETINGS EOR 1905 



of a monastery in Thibet, was very much interested in the 

 harbour question, and his surviving brothers and sister intend 

 to construct a harbour here to his memory. It is hoped to 

 make a start as soon as the necessary Parliamentary authority 

 has been obtained. The harbour is to be formed by means 

 of two piers to enclose the present haven ; the North pier 

 232 feet long and about 26 feet wide, and the South pier, 

 which is merely a breakwater, about the same length, but 

 quite narrow. All shipping and landing of goods will be 

 done at the North pier. The depth at high tide inside the 

 piers will be about 14 J feet. The North pier will be joined 

 by a new road running through North Craster towards 

 Dunstanburgh Castle. 



At this point of the excursion carriages were provided for 



the drive to Embleton by the road to the 

 Procter West of the village, which passes the entrance 



Stead. to Dunstan Hall, now named Procter Stead, 



the reputed birthplace of Duns Scotus. Here 

 a short time was allowed the members to examine the 

 building, during which Captain Norman improved the 

 occasion by offering a few historical remarks. The build- 

 ing, or group of buildings, he said, had undergone so many 

 vicissitudes and alterations that it was difficult to form a 

 positive opinion as to its original ground-plan, or the date 

 of its foundation. There appeared to have been two distinct 

 towers, both of which were still faced in parts with 14th 

 century ashlar-work. The oldest part was an ancient pele, 

 formerly used as a watch-tower in advance of Dunstanburgh 

 Castle. Its basement storey belonged to a very remote period, 

 one portion of it exhibiting an approximation to the long- 

 and-short work of pre-Conquest times. The walls of this part, 

 four feet in thickness, and its vaulted chamber, were formed 

 of basalt ; but the superstructure consisted of sandstone, the 

 Edwardian ashlar- work indicating that it was erected about 

 the same time as the neighbouring castle. The place has 



gained notoriety by being claimed as the birth- 

 Duns place of John Duns Scotus, the famous 13th 

 Scotus. century schoolman, philosopher, and divine, who 



was born in 1265, and died in 1308, He 

 belonged to the order of Franciscan Friars, and afterwards 



