St Michael's Church and Churchyard, Dumfries

A pencil drawing  by William Coston Aitken of Dumfries.   A drawing showing the southern aspect of the church and churchyard with Burns Mausoleum in its south east corner. The spires of the town of Dumfries are in the background.   In the years following his death, Robert Burns' admirers came to believe that his simple grave was an insufficient memorial to the poet. In 1813,  John Syme formed a committee and launched an appeal to build a mausoleum in his memory. One of the subscribers was the Prince Regent, later George IV. After a public advertisement, over 50 designs were received and the plans of T F Hunt, a London architect were approved.   William Coston Aitken (1816 - 1875) was born, educated and married in Dumfries before moving to Birmingham around 1850. He sketched places in and around Dumfries from a young age and his work is a record of the built environment of the town and the landmarks of the surrounding countryside in the first part of the 19th century .