Scheme to return Burns’ cottage to how it looked when he lived there in 1791
Dumfries & Galloway council has approved Collective Architecture’s plans to restore the farm where Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote many of his most famous works.
The scheme will reverse historic damage to Ellisland Farm’s 18th century buildings and return Burns’ cottage to how it looked when he lived there in 1791.
It will also provide secure storage for the museum, which safeguards the category A-listed site.
Joan McAlpine, project director at the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust said: “This is a major milestone in the race to ‘Save the Home of Auld Lang Syne’. It reflects our architect’s commitment to the sensitive development of one of the most important historic sites in Scotland.
”We can now move ahead with our vision to create a world-leading heritage and cultural centre in the place Robert Burns described as ‘sweet poetic ground’.”
Several condition reports have identified the farmstead’s historic buildings as being at risk and requiring urgent action to preserve them for future generations.
Burns purchased the farm in 1788 and wrote Auld Lang Syne, which is sung across the English speaking world on New Year’s Eve, at the property in December that year.
The poet, who is celebrated each year in Scotland on Burns night on 27 January, wrote a quarter of his life’s work including “Tam o Shanter” during his three-year stay at the form before leaving in 1791.
Most of the buildings at the site which he constructed were later dismantled, except the farmhouse, which remains largely in its original condition.
McAlpine said the aim was not to transform Ellisland but to “make it more like the place Burns created”.
“The new images show how restrained the intervention will be. Modern facilities are necessary if we are to safeguard the site for the future, but they are designed to sit quietly within the farmstead, not compete with it,” McAlpine said.
“By restoring the cottage to what Burns would recognise, and opening every room to the public, we will give visitors an experience of Burns’s home that has never before been possible.”
Collective Architecture was appointed by the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust in July 2025 to undertake the design work, supported by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and South of Scotland Enterprise for the RIBA Stage 3 designs.
Formed in 2020, the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust continues to manage the house and farm as a museum and is supported by a team of dedicated volunteers.
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