Robert Burns House

Believe it or not, this little red sandstone cottage was where Robert 'Rabbie' Burns spent the latter years of his life. It can be found on a quiet back street not far from the centre of Dumfries.

The two-up two-down house has been sympathetically furnished to look as it did when Rabbie, Jean and their bairns lived there.

Let's have a brief look at how Rabbie ended up in this humble abode. Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire, to farming parents. At the age of fifteen, while working as a labourer on his parent's farm, Rabbie had his first stab at poetry. In 1777, the family moved to a farm in Lochlea, where his writing continued. He briefly worked as a flax dresser in Irvine, but returned to the farm when the shop burnt down.

In 1785, following the death of his father and struggling to run the farm, the family moved to Mossgiel Farm in Mauchline. This is where he met Jean Armour, his future wife.

After almost emigrating to Jamaica, the successful 'Kilmarnock Edition' was released in 1786. He lived between Mauchline and Edinburgh while expanding the work into the 'Edinburgh Edition'. In 1788, he returned to Mauchline and settled down with Jean.

Although Rabbie had a number of affairs resulting in three illegitimate children, he always returned to his beloved Jean. Together the couple had nine children; twins Robert and Jean in 1786, twin daughters in 1788, Francis Wallace in 1789, William Nichol in 1791, Elizabeth Riddel in 1792, James Glencairn in 1794 and Maxwell in 1796. Sadly only Robert, William and James would survive childhood.

The couple eventually married on 5 August 1788 and moved to Ellisland Farm, just north of Dumfries. In 1791, Rabbie secured a job as an exciseman, and the family moved to a flat above the Tax Office on Bank Street in Dumfries town.

A couple of years later, in 1793, the family moved here to 24 Mill Hole Brae (now Burns Street), where both Rabbie and Jean would spend the rest of their lives. Although the exciseman role gave stability and a regular income, his creativity never waned and he continued producing classical work for the remainder of his life.

Opposite the parlour is the kitchen. This would have been Jean's domain. She would have prepared the family meals on the range in the fireplace.

Although the furniture is not original, it reflects how it would have looked during this period when freestanding furniture was commonplace. There was also likely to be a table where the family would gather to eat meals together.

The door at the back of the kitchen leads to the scullery. This room would be where Jean would have stored food and perhaps washed dishes and clothes.

At the top of the stairs, the master bedroom can be found on the right. This is where Rabbie and Jean would have slept.

It is also where he probably died at the young age of 37 of a rheumatic fever.

In the corner of the room is a door leading to the study. This small area provided Rabbie with a much-needed quiet area to which he could escape and concentrate.

Although the table was not originally from this room, it was used by Burns during visits to Rev. Andrew Jaffray, whose daughter was the subject of his poem 'Blue-Eyed Lassie'.

You can imagine Rabbie hard at work writing the likes of 'A Red, Red Rose', 'A Man's a Man for A' That' and 'The Dumfries Volunteers' in this room.

Across the landing is the second bedroom. This is where the children slept.

It now houses more pictures and memorabilia including some of Robert's works and correspondence.

In the corner of the bedroom is a door leading to an anti-room. This would have had multiple uses such as a dressing room and extra bedroom space.

Importantly, this is where Jessie Lewars slept while caring for Rabbie in his final days. As Jean was heavily pregnant with Maxwell, she was unable to care for her husband herself. Their children were moved out temporarily to allow Rabbie and Jean to have separate spaces, and Jessie, the daughter of a fellow exciseman, was moved in to care for Rabbie.

Sadly, Rabbie would never meet his youngest son, as he died on 21 July 1796, just days before he was born.