Jean Armour Statue

Born in Mauchline, Ayrshire in 1765, Jean Armour would meet Burns when chasing his dog away from her laundry. Not long after this encounter, she would meet Burns once again at a local dance.

Meanwhile, Burns had a relationship with Elizabeth Paton (a servant on his parents' farm), and his first illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth 'Bess' Burns, was born in 1785. By this time Jean and Burns were in a relationship, and by the end of the same year, she was also pregnant with his child.

Jean's father was furious and would not allow them to marry. What followed was a rushed informal marriage agreement, and the illegitimate daughter was moved to Paisley to avoid scandal. Meanwhile, Burns, believing Jean had left him, embarked on a relationship with Mary Campbell, who would die while still pregnant with his unborn child.

Jean gave birth to twins Robert and Jean, while living at her parents' house in Mauchline. Burns had moved to Edinburgh, following his success with the 'Kilmarnock Edition'. During this period he returned to Mauchline several times and during one of the visits, Jean fell pregnant again.

In 1788, Burns moved back to Mauchline, and the couple reconciled. Jean went on to have twin girls, who unfortunately died soon after birth. Seeing Burns' success, Jean's father decided to allow the couple to marry, which they did on 5 August 1788.

They moved to Ellisland Farm near Dumfries in 1788, and then into the town in 1791. She went on to have another five children with Burns, while Burns had at least four illegitimate children. One of whom was Elizabeth 'Betty' Burns, who was the daughter of Anna Park, a barmaid at The Globe in Dumfries. Jean adopted Betty and raised her as her own.

Left at a young age with the children to raise, a charitable fund was set up to help. She went on to outlive Burns by 38 years.

The Burns Howff Club decided that Jean deserved her own memorial in Dumfries and they created a sub-committee. They aimed to raise £25,000 for a life-size bronze statue, which they exceeded thanks to kind donations from local and American businesses.

The size was increased to one-and-a-half life-size, and a design submitted by Nautilus Burleighfield of Essex was selected. It depicts how Jean would have appeared during the lifetime of Robert Burns, with a Bible in her hand and the figure of a five-year-old child, rather than as an older woman.

The statue of Jean was erected opposite St Michael's Kirk, the site of the Burns Mausoleum.

It was agreed by Dumfries Council that the statue would be mounted on a concrete base, clad in granite and feature a commemorative plaque. The Burns Festival Trust would provide the lighting at the base of the statue.

On Saturday 4 September 2004, the statue was finally unveiled.