Exhibition in byre built by Scotlands National Bard, reveals lives of those who followed him at Ellisland Farm
The untold stories of soldiers, doctors, dairymaids and thieves whose lives were touched by the 18th century farm created by the poet Robert Burns are revealed in a new exhibition in the byre he built.
Beyond Burns: Ellisland’s People will preview to the public on Doors Open Weekend on the 7th and 8th of September. It uncovers new information about Ellisland Farm near Dumfries, including striking archive images from the coming of electricity in 1956, which was celebrated with a special play and pageant.
New discoveries include material about a teenage servant who was jailed for theft and a ploughman who survived the Crimean War, as well as generations of local tenant farming families who toiled on the land after Burns’s departure in 1791.
Archive film offers a glimpse of life at the farm in the 1950s and there are oral history recordings of people who lived at Ellisland or have helped preserve the legacy of the place where Burns wrote Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter.
The exhibition is part of a project called Burns, Barns and Byres, which has also supported community and education events this summer and will also help purchase equipment to protect artefacts held at Ellisland.
It is funded by Historic Environment Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and The Holywood Trust.
Joan McAlpine, Project Director of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, the charity which has run the site since 2020, said:
“This is our first temporary exhibition and another milestone in the trust’s work to engage new audiences. Our Museum Officer, Adam Dickson, has worked with volunteers, including young people, to tell the story of a “Farmhouse through Time” and local people may well discover their own link to the Ellisland when they visit.”
Adam Dickson, Museum Project Officer said:
“Ellisland is best known as the farm built by the poet himself. But it was also home to hundreds of other working people whose stories are untold till now. This exhibition will shed some light on their lives of toil, as well as recording the brighter moments when local people worked together to safeguard one of Scotland’s most important sites.”
Dr Susan O’Connor, Head of Grants at HES, said:
“Robert Burns’ legacy is woven into the fabric of Scotland’s heritage and Ellisland Farm holds a unique position, in its significance to his life and impact on his work. We are proud to support the ‘Burns, Barns & Byres’ project that will offer new insights into the experiences of those who lived and worked at Ellisland Farm and bring their stories and traditions to life.
“As an organisation, we recognise intangible cultural heritage as a vital thread that connects past and present, and we are committed to supporting projects that have this living heritage at their heart.”
Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said:
“We’re really pleased to be supporting the team at Ellisland in their work to develop the resilience of their museum. By celebrating our traditions and sharing new stories about the history of the site, Ellisland will forge even stronger ties to its community.”
Karen Ward Boyd, Director of the Holywood Trust, said: “The works of Robert Burns, and Ellisland, the farm he built, can provide some inspiration for our young people. This temporary exhibition, Beyond Burns: Ellisland’s People, will tell interesting and important stories about people connected to Ellisland through the years, which is a rich source of social and cultural history locally. This is a step in the process of Ellisland developing its engagement with the wider community and widening access to the information it holds.”
The exhibition will open for Doors Open, which is the weekend of 7th and 8th of September in Dumfries and Galloway, when it will be free. After that date, it will open from Wednesday to Saturday from 11am till 4.00pm until 31 October. The cost, which includes entry to the main museum, is £6 per adult. Children are free in 2024.
