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Article published 24/01/2025

Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has announced that efforts to save the farm where Robert Burns wrote his international anthem Auld Lang Syne have received a significant boost.

SOSE has awarded Robert Burns Ellisland Trust with a £313,210 grant to assist its plans to restore Ellisland Farm, north of Dumfries, and move a step closer to turning the site into a first-class visitor attraction.

SOSE’s support – alongside a £489,207 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in October 2024 – will allow the first phase of the “Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne” project to be carried out.

This will see completion of the design work for the renovation and adaptation of the historic buildings on the site, as well as three accommodation units.

The funding will also allow the Trust to move towards its long-term vision to showcase Burns in a modern and interactive way and establish Ellisland as a creative destination for artists workshops and residencies.

 

 

Joan McAlpine, Ellisland Farm Trust and Russel Griggs, SOSE, toasting funding for Ellisland Farm. Credit SOSE

Joan McAlpine, Director, Robert Burns Ellisland Farm Trust and Russel Griggs, Chair, SOSE, toasting funding for Ellisland Farm. Credit SOSE

Robert Burns experienced his most fruitful years at Ellisland, having taken up the lease at the farm and built a home there in 1788.

Two of the rooms in his former home have been preserved, alongside a considerable collection of artefacts and manuscripts which can be viewed today at Ellisland.

But work is now needed to restore Ellisland and help make the nationally important site financially sustainable.

The Trust is seeking to procure a conservation architect-led team to take forward the design work funded by SOSE and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Expressions of interest have been submitted through the Public Contracts Scotland website and invitations to tender will be issued soon.

Read more on the SOSE website

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