 |
Home > Virtual tours > Ellislandfarm > Ellisland Farm |
|
|
Ellisland Farm
Located on the banks of the Nith, it was here at Ellisland Farm in the year 1788 that Burns brought Jean Armour from their native Ayrshire to start a new life as a tenant farmer and exciseman. The soil at Ellisland wasn’t especially productive but its beautiful location on the River Nith clearly influenced Burns who described Ellisland as ‘the poet’s choice’ rather than the choice of the ambitious farmer. Verses in Friars’ Carse Hermitage
Burns made the most of the peace and seclusion of The Hermitage (a short walk from Ellisland Farm) as a place for reflection and composition. The poet inscribed these verses on a window pane in the little summerhouse during a period of separation from his wife, Jean. Burns was preparing suitable living quarters for the family at Ellisland and appears to have been quite unsettled. These verses form an intensely private piece and captures the mood of the poet during a period of change and upheaval. |
|
© National Burns Collection | Powered by Scran |
||