Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016552
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016552
The cottage in which Robert Burns was born (1757) has fortunately been preserved since the 1820s as a shrine to the poet, and consequently it has survived as one of Ayrshire's best remaining examples of early 18th century rural vernacular architecture. Despite considerable alteration over the years and the ravages of fire, the house retains the character of the period and is furnished with contemporary fittings.
The cottage is of a single storey with reed thatch and, if Burns' father's dscription of it as 'an auld clay biggin' is correct, the walls may well be built substantially of clay; the latter are now harled and whitewashed essential precautions if clay walls are to survive. Like many Scottish houses, particularly those in towns, the cottage opens directly on to the road with no front garden (a medieval legacy-front gardens were prohibited in case they were used for dumping rubbish), and the front wall is gently bowed to follow the line of the road. Inside, the accommodation is divided into two sections (the but and ben) with the kitchen and living qualters at one end and the byre at the other. Little of the Burns family furniture remains; the box bed may be an exception, but the interior has been fitted out with 18th and 19th century pieces, which give a good impression of the living conditions of a reasonably well-off fanning family of the period.
While in Alloway the following are also worth visiting: Alloway Kirk (NS 331180); Old Bridge of Doon (NS 332178); Burns Monument (NS 332179); Burns Heritage Centre (NS 334180).
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Clyde Estuary and Central Region’, (1985).
