Robert Burns in East Ayrshire

Burns House Museum

Whether you are a first-time visitor to Mauchline or are returning to this historic town, a visit to the 4 star Burns House Museum is definitely worthwhile. The museum situated in the cobbled back streets of Mauchline is where Robert Burns lived and worked between 1784 and 1788, years widely regarded as being his most creative and productive period. This was the time that Burns established himself as a poet, leading to the publication of the famous "Kilmarnock Edition”.

Burns and his wife Jean Armour spent some time living in the building that is now the museum and it features a recreation of the actual room they lodged in. Full of rare collections, original objects and documents relating to Burns’ time, the museum also brings the Burns story up to date.

The museum’s Robert Burns Collection is officially recognised as being of national significance as part of the wider collections cared for by the Museums of the Burns Scotland Partnership.

Kilmarnock Edition

Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect is the first edition of Robert Burns' work, published on the 31st July 1786 while Burns was still farming in Ayrshire. Burns arranged to have it printed and published by a local printer, John Wilson who has a press in Kilmarnock. In an early example of crowd funding, in 1786 Burns circulated a prospectus inviting friends and patrons to subscribe to the printing of an edition of his poems. Of this first edition, 350 were paid for by subscribers and a total of only 612 were printed altogether.

The printing of the Kilmarnock edition of his poems was a turning point in Burns' life. He abandoned his plans to emigrate to Jamaica and instead spent the next year or so in Edinburgh where he was acclaimed as a poet and welcomed in Edinburgh Society.

Replica Printing Press

McKie Collection

James McKie (sometimes written "M'Kie") was a Kilmarnock-based publisher and collector of Burns material who lived during the 19th century. He gathered a large collection of manuscripts, books, paintings and 'Burnsiana' and was the main fundraiser for the Kilmarnock Burns Monument in the Kay Park. His collection was formerly displayed in a museum in the monument; it is now housed by East Ayrshire Council Arts and Museums Service. The collection can be viewed by appointment at the Dick Institute.

add pdf Kilmarnock Town Trail

Burns Birthday in Mauchline