Images show how Burns’ farm will look
A ‘QUIET and sensitive’ approach to conservation underlines restoration plans for Ellisland Farm which have been submitted to officials.
These images show how modern visitor facilities will be introduced without altering the 18th-century character of the farmstead near Dumfries, or its rural setting.
The proposals, developed by Collective Architecture for the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, are being lodged with Dumfries and Galloway Council this week.
They focus on repairing historic fabric and gently reorganising the site so that modern functions are absorbed discreetly into existing structures.
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Duncan Dornan, chair of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, said: “Through rigorous research and modern conservation techniques, we are working to create the most authentic experience possible of Burns’s life and creative environment at Ellisland.
“Recent archival discoveries are revealing crucial details about how the Burns family lived here during the most productive period of the poet’s career. This level of scholarly input ensures the restoration will meet the highest heritage standards and will allow us to create an ever more authentic experience for visitors to the site.”
The restoration will allow every room in Burns’s 1788 cottage to be opened to the public for the first time. Currently, only two rooms are accessible.
Also, the front door is to be reinstated to its original position, allowing entry as Burns himself would have done.
Joan McAlpine, from the trust, added: “The aim is not to transform Ellisland, but to make it more like the place Burns created.
“The new images show how restrained the intervention will be.
“By restoring the cottage and opening every room to the public, we will give visitors an experience of Burns’s home that has never before been possible.”
Credit: Axson Robert Burns Ellisland TrustRelated News
