The Globe Inn Close, Dumfries, c 1940

A monochrome photographic print of the close leading to the Globe Inn, off the High Street, showing the approach from Shakespeare Street.   When Robert Burns came to live in Dumfries in 1791, the Globe Inn was one of the more fashionable public houses of the town. The landlords at that time were the Hyslop family and Burns soon became a regular customer, mentioning them by name in several poems and letters.   In the upstairs bedroom two small window panes still bear inscriptions by the poet, whilst other poems connected with the inn are, "At the Globe Tavern" and "Lines Written on Windows of the Globe Tavern". The Hyslop family obviously were tolerant of this vandalism by their literary guest!   As the reputation of the Globe Inn as Burn's "howff" in Dumfries grew, it became an attraction for those visiting Burns' haunts in and around the town. In the 1940s it was purchased by M H McKerrow, who was President of the Burns Federation and a life long Burns enthusiast, in order to preserve its associations with the poet.