Town history information panel to be unveiled

FINAL preparations are under way to install a bronze information panel before celebrations to mark the 700th an n iversar y of the Declaration of Arbroath.

Apprentice stonemasons from Historic Environment Scotland are working to build the sandstone base which will support the bas-relief.

The tablet is a gift from the Arbroath Guildry and will be placed outside the town’s abbey.

The panel telling the town’s history will be unveiled at a ceremony on October 26 at 10.30am and Ian Ballantyne, who is leading the project, is extending an invitation to the public to attend.

He said: “Local schools have been very much involved in this project and the panel will be officially unveiled by the head boy and girl from Arbroath High School and Arbroath Academy.

“The tablet is part of the Arbroath 2020 celebrations, but it is also a legacy for future generations.

“We are also working on having a QR code installed in the future so that people can scan it and download more information on the basrelief and the history of the town.”

Mr Ballantyne paid tribute to the donors who contributed to the almost £23,000 cost of the project, which has taken two years to complete.

The bas-relief, which is made up of three panels joined together, features aspects of Arbroath’s heritage with images representing agriculture, the Declaration of Arbroath, the abbey, fishing, the Bell Rock, linen and Seaton cliffs, along with engineering and textiles surrounding Arbroath’s coat of arms.

Celebrated Edinburgh-based sculptor Alan B Herriot was commissioned to undertake the work, which he previously described as a “signal honour”.