1.
Dublin Writers Museum
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The Dublin Writers Museum was opened in November 1991 at No 18, Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland. The museum occupies an original 18th-century house, which accommodates the museum rooms, library, gallery, the annexe behind it has a coffee shop and bookshop on the ground floor and exhibition and lecture rooms on the floors above. The basement beneath both houses is occupied by the Chapter One restaurant, the Museum was established to promote interest, through its collection, displays and activities, in Irish literature as a whole and in the lives and works of individual Irish writers. Through its association with the Irish Writers Centre it provides a link with living writers and it functions as a place where people can come from Dublin, Ireland and abroad to experience the phenomenon of Irish writing both as history and as actuality. The writers featured in the Museum are those who have made an important contribution to Irish or international literature or, on a local level and it is a view of Irish literature from a Dublin perspective. The museum also includes portraits of Irish writers, including fine originals by artists such as Patrick Swift, Reginald Gray, Edward McGuire, david Norris launched his presidential campaign ahead of the Irish presidential election at Dublin Writers Museum on 5 October 2011
2.
Stair House
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Stair House is a late 16th- or early 17th-century house near the village of Stair, in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the birthplace of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair and it remains in use as a house, and is a category A listed building. In the 20th century it was owned by Robert Bobby Corbett and his grave is in Stair churchyard. Stair House, NMRS Number, NS42SW4
3.
Lady Stair's Close
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Lady Stairs Close is a close in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, just off the Royal Mile, close to the entrance to Gladstones Land. Most notably it contains the Scottish Writers Museum, located in Edinburghs Lawnmarket, Lady Stairs Close is the location of an 17th-century townhouse called Lady Stairs House built in 1622 for Sir William Gray of Pittendrum, an Edinburgh Baronet. It was originally called Lady Grays House after the widow of the first proprietor and it was then bought in 1719 by the widow of John Dalrymple the first Earl of Stair, hence its present name. The close contains the Makars Court - inscribed stones to the names of Scottish literature. Burns stayed in a house in Baxters Close to the east of Lady Stairs Close during his first trip to Edinburgh in 1786, list of closes on the Royal Mile
4.
Edinburgh
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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
5.
Royal Mile
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The Royal Mile is the name given to a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The name was first used in W M Gilberts Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century, the streets which make up the Royal Mile are Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand. The Royal Mile is the busiest tourist street in the Old Town, running eastwards from the crag, the Royal Mile sits upon the ridge of the tail which slopes gently down to Holyrood Palace. Steep closes run between the many tall lands off the main thoroughfare, the route runs from an elevation of 42 meters above sea level at the palace, to 109 meters at the castle, for an average gradient of 4. 1%. The Castle Esplanade was laid out as a ground, in 1753. It was formalised in 1816 when it was widened and provided with decorative railings, the Esplanade with its several monuments has been A-listed by Historic Scotland. It is the venue of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo at which time specially designed temporary grandstands are erected, the Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland and New College are further down on the same side, in an architecturally somewhat understated building as seen from this side. The Scottish Parliament met in the Assembly Hall between 1999 and 2004, the Lawnmarket was originally part of the High Street before its separate naming, which accounts for the street numbering being a continuation of the High Street numbers. A charter of 1477 designated this part of the High Street as the market-place for what was called inland merchandise - items such as yarn, stockings, coarse cloth, in later years, linen was the main product sold. As a result, it known as the Land Market which was later corrupted to Lawn Market. Today, the majority of shops in the street are aimed at tourists, on the north side is the preserved 17th century merchants townhouse Gladstones Land owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The south side has a strong Dutch influence in its 17th-century gables, the lower end of the Lawnmarket is intersected by George IV Bridge on the right and Bank Street on the left, leading to The Mound and the New Town. The view down Bank Street is closed by the headquarters of the Bank of Scotland. On the south-west corner of intersection, with its entrance on George IV Bridge, is a new hotel. This building is of controversial design winning both best building awards and carbuncle awards in 2009/10. Between Bank Street and St Giles Street, marking the end of the Lawnmarket, St Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, also stands in Parliament Square. The prison was described by Sir Walter Scott as the Heart of Midlothian, locals have traditionally spat upon the heart, presumably to express disgust. The custom has been to some extent sanitised by tourist guides who claim that the spitting is merely for good luck, on the north side, opposite St Giles, stand Edinburgh City Chambers, where the City of Edinburgh Council meets
6.
Robert Burns
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Robert Burns, also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire, Ploughman Poet and various other names and epithets, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and he also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. Celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, in 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV. As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected songs from across Scotland. His poem Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay, and he was born in a house built by his father, where he lived until Easter 1766, when he was seven years old. William Burnes sold the house and took the tenancy of the 70-acre Mount Oliphant farm, here Burns grew up in poverty and hardship, and the severe manual labour of the farm left its traces in a premature stoop and a weakened constitution. By the age of 15, Burns was the principal labourer at Mount Oliphant, during the harvest of 1774, he was assisted by Nelly Kilpatrick, who inspired his first attempt at poetry, O, Once I Lovd A Bonnie Lass. In the summer of 1775, he was sent to finish his education with a tutor at Kirkoswald, despite his ability and character, William Burnes was consistently unfortunate, and migrated with his large family from farm to farm without ever being able to improve his circumstances. Subsequently, the family became integrated into the community of Tarbolton, to his fathers disapproval, Robert joined a country dancing school in 1779 and, with Gilbert, formed the Tarbolton Bachelors Club the following year. His earliest existing letters date from this time, when he began making overtures to Alison Begbie. In spite of four songs written for her and a suggestion that he was willing to marry her, Robert Burns was initiated into masonic Lodge St David, Tarbolton, on 4 July 1781, when he was 22. This venture accordingly came to an end, and Burns went home to Lochlea farm, during this time he met and befriended Captain Richard Brown who encouraged him to become a poet. He continued to write poems and songs and began a book in 1783. The case went to the Court of Session, and Burnes was upheld in January 1784, a fortnight before he died. During the summer of 1784 Burns came to know a group of girls known collectively as The Belles of Mauchline, one of whom was Jean Armour, the daughter of a stonemason from Mauchline. His first child, Elizabeth Paton Burns, was born to his mothers servant, Elizabeth Paton, while he was embarking on a relationship with Jean Armour, Burns signed a paper attesting his marriage to Jean, but her father was in the greatest distress, and fainted away. To avoid disgrace, her parents sent her to live with her uncle in Paisley, although Armours father initially forbade it, they were eventually married in 1788
7.
Walter Scott
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Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature, famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. A prominent member of the Tory establishment in Edinburgh, Scott was an member of the Highland Society. He survived a bout of polio in 1773 that left him lame. To cure his lameness he was sent in 1773 to live in the rural Scottish Borders at his grandparents farm at Sandyknowe, adjacent to the ruin of Smailholm Tower. Here he was taught to read by his aunt Jenny, and learned from her the speech patterns and many of the tales and legends that characterised much of his work. In January 1775 he returned to Edinburgh, and that went with his aunt Jenny to take spa treatment at Bath in England. In the winter of 1776 he went back to Sandyknowe, with another attempt at a cure at Prestonpans during the following summer. In 1778, Scott returned to Edinburgh for private education to him for school. In October 1779 he began at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and he was now well able to walk and explore the city and the surrounding countryside. His reading included chivalric romances, poems, history and travel books and he was given private tuition by James Mitchell in arithmetic and writing, and learned from him the history of the Church of Scotland with emphasis on the Covenanters. Scott began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of 12, in March 1786 he began an apprenticeship in his fathers office to become a Writer to the Signet. While at the university Scott had become a friend of Adam Ferguson, Scott met the blind poet Thomas Blacklock, who lent him books and introduced him to James Macphersons Ossian cycle of poems. During the winter of 1786–87 the 15-year-old Scott saw Robert Burns at one of these salons, for what was to be their only meeting. When Burns noticed a print illustrating the poem The Justice of the Peace and asked who had written the poem, only Scott knew that it was by John Langhorne, and was thanked by Burns. When it was decided that he would become a lawyer, he returned to the university to study law, first taking classes in Moral Philosophy, after completing his studies in law, he became a lawyer in Edinburgh. As a lawyers clerk he made his first visit to the Scottish Highlands directing an eviction and he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1792. He had an unsuccessful love suit with Williamina Belsches of Fettercairn, as a boy, youth and young man, Scott was fascinated by the oral traditions of the Scottish Borders
8.
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks as the 26th most translated author in the world. M. Barrie, and G. K. Chesterton, who said of him that he seemed to pick the word up on the point of his pen. Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, on 13 November 1850, to Thomas Stevenson, a lighthouse engineer. He was christened Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson, at about age 18, Stevenson was to change the spelling of Lewis to Louis, and in 1873, he dropped Balfour. Lighthouse design was the profession, Thomass father was the famous Robert Stevenson. Indeed, even Thomass maternal grandfather, Thomas Smith, had been in the same profession, however, Roberts mothers family were not of the same profession. Margarets natal family, the Balfours, were gentry, tracing their lineage back to a certain Alexander Balfour who had held the lands of Inchyra in Fife in the fifteenth century. Margarets father, Lewis Balfour, was a minister of the Church of Scotland at nearby Colinton, and her siblings included the physician George William Balfour, Stevenson spent the greater part of his boyhood holidays in his maternal grandfathers house. Now I often wonder, wrote Stevenson, what I inherited from this old minister, I must suppose, indeed, that he was fond of preaching sermons, and so am I, though I never heard it maintained that either of us loved to hear them. Lewis Balfour and his daughter both had weak chests, so they often needed to stay in warmer climates for their health, Stevenson inherited a tendency to coughs and fevers, exacerbated when the family moved to a damp, chilly house at 1 Inverleith Terrace in 1851. The family moved again to the sunnier 17 Heriot Row when Stevenson was six years old, illness would be a recurrent feature of his adult life and left him extraordinarily thin. Contemporary views were that he had tuberculosis, but more recent views are that it was bronchiectasis or even sarcoidosis, Stevensons parents were both devout and serious Presbyterians, but the household was not strict in its adherence to Calvinist principles. His nurse, Alison Cunningham, was fervently religious. Her Calvinism and folk beliefs were a source of nightmares for the child. But she also cared for him tenderly in illness, reading to him from Bunyan, Stevenson recalled this time of sickness in The Land of Counterpane in A Childs Garden of Verses, dedicating the book to his nurse. In any case, his frequent illnesses often kept him away from his first school and he was a late reader, first learning at age seven or eight, but even before this he dictated stories to his mother and nurse. He compulsively wrote stories throughout his childhood and his father was proud of this interest, he had also written stories in his spare time until his own father found them and told him to give up such nonsense and mind your business
9.
City of Edinburgh Council
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Also, as Scotlands capital city, Edinburgh is host to the Scottish Parliament and the main offices of the Scottish Government. The City of Edinburgh became a council area in 1996. Act 1994, with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region, as one of the unitary local government areas of Scotland, the City of Edinburgh has a defined structure of governance, generally under the Local Government etc. Act 1994, with The City of Edinburgh Council governing on matters of administration such as housing, planning, local transport, parks and local economic development. For such purposes the City of Edinburgh is divided into 17 wards, the Parliament of the United Kingdom legislates on matters such as taxation, foreign policy, defence, employment and trade. On 18 September 2014, Edinburgh voted No in the Scottish Independence Referendum by 61. 1% to 38. 9% with a 84. 4% turnout rate, the current Lord Provost of Edinburgh is Donald Wilson, who replaced George Grubb in May 2012. In Scotland the Lord Provost fulfils many similar roles to that of a Mayor in some other countries, elections to the Council are held every four/five years electing 58 councillors. The last elections took place in May 2012 and the election is in May 2017. The Council is currently controlled by a Labour/Scottish National Party coalition, the Council is currently the second highest employer in Edinburgh, with a total of 18,617 employees. The City of Edinburgh Council is elected under proportional representation and there are 58 councillors in 17 multi-member wards, the Council meeting is made up of all the councillors elected to the City of Edinburgh Council. The full Council meets once a month on a Thursday, except during recess and holiday periods, in September 2012, The City of Edinburgh Council introduced a new committee system. These sub-committees develop policy aided by witnesses who are invited to give evidence or provide their view on a particular policy and this approach aims to increase the public’s engagement with the democratic process and result in improved, more inclusive policies. The Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee considers and scrutinises the financial and service performance of the Council, its companies and it also performs the audit function of the Council. The Convener of the Committee is an opposition Councillor, the Petitions Committee allows a new method for individuals, community groups and organisations can get involved in what the Council does. It allows people to issues of public concern and gives Councillors the opportunity to consider the need for change. The Convener of the Committee is an opposition Councillor, the Planning Committee is principally concerned with issues of planning and development, including the granting of planning permission and street naming. Membership of such committees reflects the party balance on the council, in June 2007 the six local development committees in Edinburgh, one for each Scottish Parliamentary Constituency were replaced by neighbourhood partnerships. Typically these combine the councillors from two wards with representatives of community councils
10.
Makars' Court
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Makars Court is a courtyard next to the The Writers Museum in central Edinburgh, Scotland. The Court forms part of Lady Stairs Close, which connects the Royal Mile with The Mound to the north, described as an evolving national literary monument, the courtyard incorporates quotations from Scottish literature inscribed onto paving slabs. The quotations represent works in the used by Scots past and present, Gaelic, Scots, English. The Scots language term makar denotes an author or writer, though stressing their role as a skilled, since 2002 the city of Edinburgh has appointed its own official Makar. In 1997, twelve Scottish writers were selected by the Saltire Society, the first was unveiled by Ronald Harwood, then President of International PEN, and the rest by poet Iain Crichton Smith. Further inscriptions continue to be added to the Court, Makars Court, Edinburgh Museums and Galleries The Makars Literary Tour
11.
Lintel
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A lintel or lintol is a structural horizontal block that spans the space or opening between two vertical supports. It can be an architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, windows and fireplaces, in worldwide architecture of different eras and many cultures, a lintel has been an element of post and lintel construction. Many different building materials have been used for lintels, in classical Western architecture and construction methods, by Merriam-Webster definition, a lintel is a load-bearing member and is placed over an entranceway. Called an architrave, the lintel is an element that is usually rested on stone pillars or stacked stone columns. An example from the Mycenaean Greece cultural period is the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae and it weighs 120 tons, with approximate dimensions 8.3 ×5.2 ×1.2 m, one of the largest in the world. A lintel may support the chimney above a fireplace, or span the distance of a path or road, examples of the ornamental use of lintels are in the hypostyle halls and slab stelas in ancient Egypt and the Indian rock-cut architecture of Buddhist temples in caves. Preceding prehistoric and subsequent Indian Buddhist temples were wooden buildings with structural load-bearing wood lintels across openings, the rock-cut excavated cave temples were more durable, and the non-load-bearing carved stone lintels allowed creative ornamental uses of classical Buddhist elements. Highly skilled artisans were able to simulate the look of wood, imitating the nuances of a wooden structure, the Hoysala Empire era was an important period in the development of art and architectural the South Indian Kannadigan culture. It is remembered primarily for its Hindu temples mandapa, lintels. The Maya civilization in the Americas was known for its sophisticated art, the Mayan city of Yaxchilan, on the Usumacinta River in present-day southern Mexico, specialized in the stone carving of ornamental lintel elements within structural stone lintels. The earliest carved lintels were created in 723 CE, at the Yaxchilan archaeological site there are fifty-eight lintels with decorative pieces spanning the doorways of major structures. Among the finest Mayan carving to be excavated are three temple door lintels that feature scenes of a queen celebrating the kings anointing by a god
12.
Tenement building
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The term tenement originally referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation. In Scotland, it continues to be the most common word for a multiple-occupancy building, late 19th-century social reformers in the U. S. were hostile to both tenements and apartment houses. The adapted buildings were known as rookeries, and were a particular concern as they were prone to collapse. Mulberry Bend and Five Points were the sites of notorious rookeries that the city worked for decades to clear, in both rookeries and purpose-built tenements, communal water taps and water closets were squeezed into what open space there was between buildings. In parts of the Lower East Side, buildings were older and had courtyards, generally occupied by shops, stables. Prior to the 1867 law, tenements often covered more than 90 percent of the lot, were five or six stories high, yards were a few feet wide and filled with privies where they had not been entirely eliminated. Early housing reformers urged the construction of tenements to replace cellars, and beginning in 1859 the number of people living in cellars began to decline. This was amended by the Tenement House Act of 1879, known as the Old Law, which required lot coverage of no more than 65 percent. ”The New York City Board of Health, empowered to enforce the regulations, declined to do so. As a compromise, the Old Law tenement became the standard, this had a shape, with air and light shafts on either side in the center. Public concern about New York tenements was stirred by the publication in 1890 of Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives and it used both charts and photographs, the first such official use of photographs. Together with the publication in 1895 by the U. S and these rules are still the basis of New York City law on low-rise buildings, and made single-lot development uneconomical. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a brick former tenement building in Manhattan that is a National Historic Site, is a museum devoted to tenements in the Lower East Side. Tenements make up a percentage of the housing stock of Edinburgh. Edinburghs tenements are much older, dating from the 17th century onwards, and some were up to 15 storeys high when first built, which made them among the tallest houses in the world at that time. Glasgow tenements were built no taller than the width of the street on which they were located, therefore. Virtually all Glasgow tenements were constructed using red or blonde sandstone, a large number of the tenements in Edinburgh and Glasgow were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s because of slum conditions, overcrowding and poor maintenance of the buildings. The Gorbals is a small area and at one time had an estimated 90,000 people living in its tenements, leading to very poor living conditions. However, the many remaining tenements in areas of both cities have experienced a resurgence in popularity due to their large rooms, high ceilings
13.
John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair
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The son of James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, John Dalrymple was born at Stair House in the parish of Stair, in Kyle, Ayrshire. He served under King James VII, but as a dominant force in the Scots Parliament he helped bring about the accession of William II to the throne in 1688/9. In 1689 the king rewarded him with the position of Lord Advocate, Dalrymple is most remembered for his part in the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe. In 1695, the Scottish parliament demanded an enquiry into the massacre, responsibility for the crime lay with the Kings Scottish ministers, and many criticised Williams shielding the Master of Stair, including Lord Macaulay, who termed it a great breach of duty. The only punishment he endured was a dismissal from the Secretaryship of State and he returned to government in 1700 as a member of the Privy Council of Scotland. After succeeding his father as 2nd Viscount of Stair in 1695 and he married Elizabeth Dundas, daughter of Sir John Dundas of Newliston and Agnes Gray. They had 6 sons and 4 daughters, but only 3 sons and one daughter reached adulthood, John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, William, Hon George Dalrymple of Dalmahoy and Lady Margaret Dalrymple. After his death Elizabeth, Countess Dowager of Stair, acquired the house in Lady Grays Close, Edinburgh, built and owned by her grandparents and they were renamed Lady Stairs Close and House respectively - now the Scottish Writers Museum
14.
Patrick Geddes
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Sir Patrick Geddes FRSE was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his thinking in the fields of urban planning. He introduced the concept of region to architecture and planning and coined the term conurbation, the son of Janet Stevenson and soldier Alexander Geddes, Patrick Geddes was born in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, and educated at Perth Academy. He lectured in Zoology at Edinburgh University from 1880 to 1888 and he married Anna Morton, who was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, in 1886 when he was 32 years old. They had three children, Norah, Alasdair and Arthur, during a visit to India in 1917 Anna fell ill with typhoid fever and died, not knowing that their son Alasdair had been killed in action in France. In 1895 Geddes published an edition of The Evergreen magazine, with articles on nature, biology, artists Robert Burns and John Duncan provided illustrations for the magazine. Geddes wrote with J. Arthur Thomson an early book on The Evolution of Sex and he held the Chair of Botany at University College Dundee from 1888 to 1919, and the Chair of Sociology at the University of Bombay from 1919 to 1924. He inspired Victor Branford to form the Sociological Society in 1903 to promote his sociological views and he was a major influence on the American urban theorist Lewis Mumford. He was knighted in 1932, shortly before his death at the Scots College in Montpellier, Geddes was the father-in-law of the architect and planner Frank Charles Mears. In this theory, the family is viewed as the biological unit of human society from which all else develops. Geddes drew on Le Plays circular theory of geographical locations presenting environmental limitations and his central argument was that physical geography, market economics and anthropology were related, yielding a “single chord of social life all three combined”. Geddes writing demonstrates the influence of ideas on his theories of the city. He saw the city as a series of interlocking patterns. He criticised the tendency of modern scientific thinking to specialisation, each sees clearly and seizes firmly upon one petal of the six-lobed flower of life and tears it apart from the whole. He continued to use and advocate for this approach throughout his career, very early on in his career Geddes demonstrated the practicality of his ideas and approach. In 1886 Geddes and his married wife purchased a row of slum tenements in James Court, Edinburgh. The best of the houses were kept and restored. Geddes believed that this approach was more economical and more humane. ”However, he wished this policy of sweeping clearances to be recognised for what he believed it was
15.
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
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Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny. Rosebery first came to attention in 1879–1880 by sponsoring the successful Midlothian campaign of William Ewart Gladstone. He briefly was in charge of Scottish affairs and this finest performance in office came as chairman of the London County Council in 1889. He entered the cabinet in 1885 and served twice as minister, paying special attention to French. He succeeded Gladstone as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party in 1894 and he resigned the party leadership in 1896 and never again held political office. He was widely known as a brilliant orator, a sportsman and marksman. All of these activities attracted him more politics, which grew boring. Furthermore, he drifted to the right of the Liberal party, winston Churchill, observing that he never adapted to democratic electoral competition, quipped, He would not stoop, he did not conquer. Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, historians judge him a failure as foreign minister and as prime minister. Archibald Philip Primrose was born on 7 May 1847 in his parents house in Charles Street, Mayfair and his father was Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, son and heir apparent to Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery, whom he predeceased. Lord Dalmeny was a title used by the Earls eldest son and heir apparent, during the Earls lifetime. Lord Dalmeny was MP for Stirling from 1832 to 1847 and served as First Lord of the Admiralty under Lord Melbourne. Roseberys mother was Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope, a historian who wrote under her second married name the Duchess of Cleveland. Lord Dalmeny died on 23 January 1851, having predeceased his father, when the title passed to his son. In 1854 his mother remarried to Lord Harry Vane, the relationship between mother and son was very poor. His elder and favourite sister Lady Leconfield was the wife of Henry Wyndham, Dalmeny attended preparatory schools in Hertfordshire and Brighton and then Eton which he attended between 1860 and 1863, he then went to Brighton College between 1863 and 1865. His remarkable intellect, displayed in debates, attracted the attention of William Johnson Cory, michael Matthew Kaylors Secreted Desires, The Major Uranians, Hopkins, Pater and Wilde explores their personal relationship. Dalmeny proceeded to Christ Church, Oxford, through the years 1865 until 1869, remarkably the three Prime Ministers from 1880 to 1902, namely Gladstone, Salisbury and Rosebery, all attended both Eton and Christ Church
16.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
17.
Historic Scotland
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Historic Scotland was an executive agency of the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotlands built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved, HES also took over the functions of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Historic Scotland was an organisation to the Ancient Monuments Division of the Ministry of Works. It was created as an agency in 1991 and was attached to the Scottish Executive Education Department, as part of the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland was directly accountable to the Scottish Ministers. In 2002, proposals to restore Castle Tioram in the West Highlands, by putting a roof back on, were blocked by Historic Scotland and this position was supported in an extensive local Public Inquiry at which the arguments for both sides were heard. It has been implied that this dispute has led to a review of the operations of the organisation, after widespread consultation, Historic Scotland published a comprehensive series of Scottish Historic Environment Policy papers, consolidated into a single volume in October 2008. The agencys Framework Document set out the responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers and its Corporate Plan sets out its targets and performance against them. Historic Scotland had direct responsibility for maintaining and running over 360 monuments in its care, about a quarter of which are manned and these properties have additional features such as guidebooks, books and other resources. Historic Scotland sought to increase the number of run at its sites. Similarly, new museums and visitor centres were opened, notably at Arbroath Abbey, there was also a hospitality section, which makes some properties available for wedding receptions and other functions. Lifetime memberships were also available, and all received a quarterly magazine Historic Scotland. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Scottish Ten Official website
18.
John Barleycorn
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John Barleycorn is a British folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and indignities that correspond to the stages of barley cultivation. Kathleen Herbert draws a link between the mythical figure Beowa and the figure of John Barleycorn and it is in any case, they note, an old song, with printed versions dating as far back as the sixteenth century. Countless versions of this song exist, a Scottish poem with a similar theme, Quhy Sowld Nocht Allane Honorit Be, is included in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568 and English broadside versions from the 17th century are common. Robert Burns published his own version in 1782, and modern versions abound, burnss version makes the tale somewhat mysterious and, although not the original, it became the model for most subsequent versions of the ballad. Burns version, however, omits their motives, the song is also a central part of Simon Emmersons The Imagined Village project. Martin and Eliza Carthy perform the song alongside Paul Weller on the Imagined Village album, billy Bragg sang in Wellers place on live performances. Rock guitarist Joe Walsh performed the live in 2007 as a tribute to Jim Capaldi. Lithuanian folk-blues band Working Hobo performs this song in Lithuanian which is called Džonas Miežis
19.
Address to the Deil
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Address to the Devil is a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns. It was written in Mossgiel in 1785 and published in the Kilmarnock volume in 1786, the poem was written as a humorous portrayal of the Devil and the pulpit oratory of the Presbyterian Church. It begins by quoting from Miltons Paradise Lost as a contrast with the first two lines of the poem itself, These lines are also a parody of a couplet in Alexander Popes satire The Dunciad. The poem was written in a Habbie stanza with the six lines long. Burns used a stanza in Death and Doctor Hornbrook. The poem is also skeptical of the Devils existence and of his intentions to punish sinners for all eternity as in the stanza. Hear me, auld Hangie, for a wee, An’ let poor damned bodies be, I’m sure sma’ pleasure it can gie, Ev’n to a deil, To skelp an’ scaud poor dogs like me, An’ hear us squeel. This contrasts with the contained in works such as Paradise Lost
20.
Halloween (poem)
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Halloween is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785. First published in 1786, the poem is included in the Kilmarnock volume and it is one of Burns longer poems, and employs a mixture of Scots and English. The poet John Mayne from Dumfries, South West Scotland, a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses, had attempted a poem on the subject of Halloween in 1780. Having twelve stanzas, the poem makes note of pranks at Halloween, What fearfu pranks ensue. as well as the associated with the night. The poem appeared in Ruddimans Weekly Magazine, November 1780, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh and that the Ayrshire poet Burns actually saw and was influenced by Maynes composition is apparent, as he appears to communicate with Maynes work, and also echoes some of his imagery. According to Burns, Halloween is thought to be a night when witches, devils, the full text of Halloween at Wikisource Poems And Songs Of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
21.
Holy Willie's Prayer
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Holy Willies Prayer is a poem by Robert Burns. It was written in 1785 and first printed anonymously in a pamphlet in 1789. It is considered the greatest of all Burns satirical poems, one of the finest satires by any poet, and it is written in the Scots language, but is accessible to most modern English readers. The poem is an attack on the bigotry and hypocrisy of some members of the Kirk, as told by the prayer of a kirk elder. Throughout the poem, Holy Willie displays his hypocrisy by justifying his own transgressions while simultaneously asking God to judge harshly, Burns used the example of Holy Willie to make the point that the Calvinist theology underpinning the entire Kirk was equally hypocritical. The Kirk was still a powerful force in Burns day. He observed that belief in predestination, particularly to salvation, could have the tendency to make people insufferably self-righteous. Willies soapy sanctimony is alternated with his tales of his own fornication. The characters are drawn from life, with no names being changed. Willie Fisher was an elder of Daddy Aulds kirk in Mauchline who conceived a dislike for Gavin Hamilton, Hamilton was suspected of financial impropriety when inconsistencies in the accounts were discovered. It may be that the deficit was the result of Hamiltons kindly acts in forgiving the debts of those who were unable to pay their tax to the kirk, Fisher spied on Hamilton and added the charges of, Travelling on the Sabbath. Not reading the Bible on a Sunday, digging his garden on the Sabbath Fishers complaint against Hamilton was heard and adjudicated by the Presbytery of Ayr, as is stated in Burns own commentary on the poem. Hence, Holy Willie complains bitterly to God not only against Hamilton himself but also against the Presbytery, Lord, hear my earnest cry and prayr, Against that Presbytry o Ayr. Willie Fisher never recovered from the ignominy of this public defeat, on losing his process, the muse overheard him at his devotions. Entry at Robertburns. org A Recital Holly Willies Prayer including Epitaph on Holly Willie
22.
The Battle of Sherramuir
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It was written when Burns toured the Highlands in 1787 and first published in The Scots Musical Museum,1790. It was written to be sung to the Cameronian Rant, the song was written as an adaptation of a broadside by John Barclay, called Dialogue Between Will Lick-Ladle and Tom Clean-Cogue. Burns knew that the Battle of Sheriffmuir had ended so inconclusively that it was unclear which side had won and that knowledge formed the basis for the theme of the song which is written as an account of the battle by two shepherds taking contrary views of the events that unfolded. One of the shepherds believes that the red-coat lads wi black cockades routed the rebels, painting a fearful picture of how they managed to hough the Clans like nine-pin kyles. The other shepherd is just as convinced that the Jacobites did pursue / The horsemen back to Forth, man with the result that. mony a huntit, poor Red-coat / For fear amaist did swarf. Dissatisfied with the first published version of the song, Burns revised and re-wrote it sometime after 1790. The revised version was published after his death by his editor, James Currie M. D. in The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, With Explanatory and Glossarial Notes, And a Life of the Author. It is the version of the song, published by Currie. Until recently the source used by James Currie to publish the revised version of the song was unclear, equally, the academic, James Kinsley did not disclose the source for his analysis of the differences between the original and revised definitive version. In July 2007 the original manuscript containing Burns revisions and amendments re-surfaced in the collection of the renowned Swiss manuscript collector Albin Schram. The manuscript was included as one of the most significant items in the auction of the Albin Schram Collection of Autograph Letters at Christies in London which took place on 3 July 2007 and it was acquired by an anonymous collector. The manuscript, in Burns clear hand, also contained written notes by Currie thereby proving its provenance, the justification for the publication by Currie of all of Burns revisions are contained in the manuscript. Burns dropped the line of the original and made significant changes to stanza five. The last two lines are evidence of Burns alteration of the original stanza five which read, Their cogs obrose, they scard at blows, And homeward fast did flee, man. The manuscript shows that Currie adopted the new version, in the editions he published from 1800 onwards. He also adopted the title used in his own endorsement, omitted one of the best lines in two, and made minor corrections. There are other deleted lines or half lines where Burns contemplated changes, on the one hand, some deletions and insertions seem to result from Burns writing in haste and either miscopying or misremembering the original. Kinsley, however, omits to note that it was this manuscript, drafted by Burns, on 23 February 2009 the manuscript was acquired by the National Library of Scotland from Adams Hamilton the Washington D. C. based literary and historical manuscript dealers
23.
Auld Lang Syne
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Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in countries, especially in the English-speaking world. By extension, it is sung at funerals, graduations. The international Scouting movement, in countries, uses it to close jamborees. The songs Scots title may be translated into standard English as old long since, or more idiomatically, long long ago, consequently, For auld lang syne, as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as for old times. The phrase Auld Lang Syne is also used in poems by Robert Ayton, Allan Ramsay. Matthew Fitt uses the phrase In the days of auld lang syne as the equivalent of Once upon a time, in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language. CHORUS, On old long syne my Jo, On old long syne, That thou canst never once reflect and it is a fair supposition to attribute the rest of the poem to Burns himself. There is some doubt as to whether the melody used today is the same one Burns originally intended, singing the song on Hogmanay or New Years Eve very quickly became a Scots custom that soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As Scots emigrated around the world, they took the song with them, a manuscript of Auld Lang Syne is held in the permanent collection of The Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The song begins by posing a question, Is it right that old times be forgotten. The answer is generally interpreted as a call to remember long-standing friendships, thomsons Select Songs of Scotland was published in 1799 in which the second verse about greeting and toasting was moved to its present position at the end. Most common use of the song only the first verse. The last lines of both of these are sung with the extra words For the sake of or And days of. This allows one note for each word, rather than the slight melisma required to fit Burns original words to the melody. † dine = dinner time‡ ch = voiceless velar fricative, /x/, at the back of the mouth like /k/, similar to Bach in German* syne = since or then – pronounced like sign rather than zine. The tune to which Auld Lang Syne is commonly sung is a pentatonic Scots folk melody, English composer William Shield seems to quote the Auld Lang Syne melody briefly at the end of the overture to his opera Rosina, which may be its first recorded use. For instance, Burns poem Coming Through the Rye is sung to a tune that might also be based on the Millers Wedding
24.
Tam o' Shanter (poem)
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Tam o Shanter is a narrative poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790, while living in Dumfries. First published in 1791, it is one of Burns longer poems, at the conclusion of one such late-night revel after a market day, Tam rides home on his horse Meg while a storm is brewing. On the way he sees the local haunted church lit up, with witches and warlocks dancing, the witches are dancing as the music intensifies and, upon seeing one particularly wanton witch in a short dress he loses his reason and shouts, Weel done, cutty-sark. Immediately, the lights go out, the music and dancing stops and many of the creatures lunge after Tam, Tam spurs Meg to turn and flee and drives the horse on towards the River Doon as the creatures dare not cross a running stream. The creatures give chase and the witches come so close to catching Tam, after Burns has located us geographically. Tams wife, Kate, is portrayed as an authority to be feared and it gars me greet, To think how mony counsels sweet, How mony lengthend, sage advices, The husband frae the wife despises. Tam continues to drink and even flirts with the landlady of the pub, eventually he mounts up and rides off on his grey mare Meg, for his long, dark, lonely ride home. Burns emphasises the character of the Ayrshire countryside Tam has to ride through—but of course it is much easier as he is drunk. What dangers thou canst make us scorn, Wi tippenny, we fear nae evil, Wi usquabae, well face the devil. With the scene set, suddenly, wow, the sight he sees is Alloway Kirk, ablaze with light, where a weird hallucinatory dance involving witches and warlocks, open coffins and even the Devil himself is in full swing. The scene is told with grimly enthusiastic gothic attention to detail, Tam manages to watch silently until, the dancing witches having cast off most of their clothes, he is beguiled by one particularly comely female witch, Nannie, whose shirt is too small for her. He cannot help shouting out in passion, Weel done, Cutty-sark. And in an instant all was dark, The devil decides to follow Tam and they only just make it though, as Nannie, first among the hellish legion chasing, grabs the horses tail, which comes off. The second of the stories was, in fact, Tam o Shanter, I need not mention the universally known fact, that no diabolical power can pursue you beyond the middle of a running stream. However, the unsightly, tailless condition of the steed was to the last hours of the noble creatures life. Thus began what was to be one of Burns most sustained poetic efforts, the story that the poem was written in a day was perpetrated by John Gibson Lockhart, aided by Allan Cunningham. Its subtle nuances of tempo, pace and tone suggest that it had given, as Burns told Mrs Dunlop on 11 April 1791. Burns based the character of Tam OShanter on Douglas Graham, a friend who lived at Shanter Farm, about half a mile inland from the village of Maidens in South Ayrshire
25.
Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad
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Oh, whistle and Ill come to you, my lad is the title and refrain of a 1793 poem and song by Robert Burns. The whistle has two phrases inscribed on it in Latin, FLA FUR BIS FLE and QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT and his blowing it has unexpected consequences. Whistle and Ill Come to You is the title of two different BBC adaptations based on the work, one in 1968 and one in 2010, both adaptations use James story as a basis, but alter a number of aspects of the tale. The phrase Quis est iste qui venit is also referenced in the horror video game Silent Hill, Shattered Memories. Text of the poem by Burns Oh, whistle and Ill come to you, my lad at WikiSource
26.
Scots Wha Hae
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Burns was aware that if he declared his Republican and Radical sympathies openly he could suffer the same fate. In the 1802 edition, the words and tune were restored. Scots Wha Hae is the party song of the Scottish National Party and it is sung at the close of their annual national conference each year. Bold, Alan, Rhymer Rab, An Anthology of Poems and Prose by Robert Burns, Black Swan, Transworld Publishers Ltd, London 1993, ISBN 0-552-99526-6 Mackay, the Complete Letters of Robert Burns, Ayr 1987. Digitised copy of Scots Wha Hae in James Johnsons Scots Musical Museum, printed between 1787 and 1803, from National Library of Scotland
27.
Burns Cottage
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Burns Cottage, the first home of Robert Burns is located in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was built by his father, William Burness in 1757, Burns, Scotlands national poet, was born there on 25 January 1759. It is a simple two-roomed clay and thatch cottage and has fully restored to become part of Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. The museum has a bust of Burns by Patric Park, the cottage has had a number of uses, including a spell as a pub, run by a Mr Goudie from Riccarton who saw the opportunity to exploit Burnss developing reputation. At first therefore the cottage was not greatly valued, Burns Cottage, a reproduction of Burns birthplace, built in 1911 Burns Cottage Pictures of Burns Cottage, Alloway
28.
Drukken Steps
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The Drukken, Drucken Steps or Drunken Steps were stepping stones across the Red Burn in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland and are associated with Scotlands national poet, Robert Burns. Drukken is used on the commemorative plaque, but Druken or Drucken may also be used. Until 2009 it was thought that the Drukken Steps had been buried beneath the road surface of the Kilwinning bypass. In 1799 the Earl closed the road beyond the Drucken Steps to protect his new policies, the stepping stones remained in situ without any bridge present until at least the late 1960s. The Red Burn was wider with a flow at that time. The original plaque had been inserted in the old boundary wall at the site of the stepping stones. The name Drukken steps derives from a persons apparently drunken gait as they stepped from stone to stone whilst crossing the burn, seven or more stones were originally set in the Red Burn which was much wider than now. Burns himself used the Scots spelling Drucken rather than Drukken or Druken, the Scots word drouk, meaning drench is another possible derivation. Strawhorn refers to the site as the Drunken Steps or Drucken Steps, the lower inscription on the commemorative cairn states, Eglinton Woods, Drukken Steps, Favourite Walk of Robert Burns and his sailor friend Richard Brown. Do you recollect a Sunday we spent together in Eglinton Woods, Irvine Burns Club,25 January 1927. The upper inscription reads, This cairn was erected for Irvine Burns Club to mark their 150th anniversary,700 yards north west of this spot by W & C French Ltd, builders of Irvine by-pass, January 1976. The Steps Road in Irvine commemorates the Drukken steps, the remains of this wall can still be seen at the site of the stepping stones and it was to this wall that the original commemorative plaque had been attached. No gate or door existed here, entry being gained through a collapsed section, the nearby Knadgerhill Cemetery has one wall built from a continuation of this estate wall. Land in the vicinity of the Drukken Steps was locally known as the Spittal Meadow, held in 1666 by the Laird of Corsbie or Crosbie and Robert Woodside or Robert of Woodside. Spittal was a term applied to lands, the revenues of which supported a hospice but, in some instances. This name is recorded in a document dated 1542. This could have formed part of the lands of the nunnery at Stanecastle which could have been the site of the spittal in question, other spittals in Ayrshire were located in Ayr, Prestwick, Symington, Fail, Maybole, Mauchline, Stewarton and Kilmarnock. A Chapel of Saint Bridget near Stanecastle is mentioned in 1417, a secondary source makes reference to a chapel at the site of the Hill Cottage and it is indicated that the well at this site produced an abundance of water
29.
Ellisland Farm
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Ellisland Farm and museum lies about 6.5 mi/10.4 km northwest of Dumfries in village of Auldgirth, located in the Parish of Dunscore, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The complex is a house museum in the farm Robert Burns built. William Roys map, circa 1747–55, does not show any form of settlement at Ellisland, however William Crawfords 1804 map of Dumfries-shire marks an Elliesland as expected, the farm having been built a few years before. The name is said to be derived from Isles Land, the name of a neighbouring estate, the river may have been less of a barrier to transport than today and a ford is known to have existed nearby. Patrick Miller of Dalswinton wrote of the area in September 1810, saying, When I purchased this estate about twenty-five years ago and it was in the most miserable state of exhaustion, and all the tenants in poverty. When I went to view my purchase, I was so much disgusted for eight or ten days, the lease was divided up into four periods of nineteen years, the rent for the first three years to be £50 per annum, and £70 thereafter. Robert had written a letter to his friend Patrick Miller, on 20 October 1787, I want to be a farmer in a farm, about a plough-gang, in a pleasant country. I have no notion of being a tenant on easier terms than another. To find a farm where one can live at all is not easy – I only mean living soberly, like an old-style farmer, and joining personal industry. Ellisland had no farmhouse or farm buildings and Patrick Miller provided Burns with £300 to build one, construct the byre, cart shed, etc. and to stock the farm and enclose the fields. In December Jean came down to Nithsdale and stayed rent free with Robert at the Isle, the house of David Newall. Mrs Dunlop of Dunlop House had given the couple a four poster bed, Jean was said to be a good and prudent housewife, kept everything in neat and tidy order, was well liked by the servants and provided plenty of wholesome food. The maid-servant, Elizabeth, previously mentioned was a cousin, Robert Ainslie was not so complimentary when he visited Ellisland in October 1790. Burns sons Francis Wallace and William Nicol were born at Ellisland Farm, for a time Roberts youngest brother William lived at Ellisland until he got a job as an apprentice saddler near Carlisle. The house Burns built stood on a bank above the river and had one storey. In the west end there was a room, and in the east a sitting-room. A kitchen and a bedroom formed the middle of the dwelling, alexander Crombie was the stonemason and Thomas Boyd was the architect, the completion being much delayed and the account not settled until two months before Burns left Ellisland. Some of the windows were said in 1840 to carrying the faint traces of the poetic glass-scribblings of which Burns was so fond, a copious spring emptied into a basin, situated down the slope towards the river and this supplied the family
30.
The Hermitage, Friars Carse
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The Hermitage was a folly first built by Captain Robert Riddell of Friars Carse as part of his enthusiasm for antiquities. It is famous for its connection with the bard Robert Burns who through his friendship with Robert Riddell was permitted to use it to poetry in this secluded. Burns also used his diamond point pen to engrave lines on the window pane at the Hermitage following the death of Robert Riddell. The original Hermitage fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1874 and it was further restored to its former glory more recently. Captain Robert Riddell of Glenriddell had built a summer house, an ivied cot folly called the Hermitage in the Crow Wood. The building was constructed in the mode of an anchorites cell. The circa 1899 OS map appears to shows the rebuilt Hermitage, now roofed, the seat and statue on the drive are no longer evident. It measured 10.5 feet by eight and had a single window, in around 1870 William Douglas recorded that the only part of the building still standing was part of the east gable. Over the lintel was cut the name BURNS in bold letters, although the original building no longer exists, Mr Thomas Nelson of Friars Carse built another Hermitage, of a different design, on the same site in 1874. The British Listed Building register sees it as a building of circa 1790. Adamson visited it in 1879 and records that it contained the form of a monk, with shaven crown, chipped nose. The building otherwise only contained a chair and a small table, the building was recently restored again and now has an interpretation board detailing its history and a trail guide indicates its location. The Hermitage lies within the grounds of Friars Carse Hotel. By 28 June 1788 Robert Burns had written Verses in Friars Carse Hermitage, the new buildings window had the same lines inscribed upon it, however they are now in the mansion house and the Hermitages windows now have no inscription. The second window of the 1874 building had the following verse inscribed upon it, the Hermitage is a Category B listed building. Friars Carse at one time held the original Burns manuscripts The Whistle, Robert Burns World Federation Burns Clubs Notes Sources and bibliography BBC - Written in Friars Carse Hermitage Accessed, 2015-01-02 Commentary on Robert Burns and The Hermitage at Friars Carse
