The Birthplace of Burns

A copper plate engraving from a painting by Thomas Stothard of the cottage in Alloway where Robert Burns was born.   Robert Burns was born at Alloway near Ayr on the 25th January 1759, the eldest of seven children of Agnes and William Burnes. His father was a market gardener, who having acquired a small holding of land, had built this cottage with its whitewashed clay walls and thatched roof with his own hands.   The poet's father sold the cottage in 1781 and it was used as a public house until May 1881. By this time it had become a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts from around the world. It was purchased for £4,000 by the Trustees of the Burns Monument and opened to the public.   This engraving is originally from the collection of Dr Thomas Boyle Grierson of Thornhill, whose father, William Grierson, was a friend and supporter of Robert Burns. Dr Grierson was a prominent local antiquarian and member of the Burns movement in the later part of the nineteenth century.
Object no :
DMBN219n
Collection :
Creator :
Robert Hartley Cromek [1770 - 1812]
Place of Production :
NA
Dimensions :
width: 89 mm, length: 100 mm
Materials :
paper
Location :
NA
Related site :
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