Irvine Burns Club

Description

Irvine Burns Club is a literary and commemorative club formed at an inn in Irvine on 2 June 1826 by twelve leading men of the town to mark the birth of Robert Burns. It owns and runs Wellwood, a house at 28 Eglinton Street bequeathed to the club in 1955 and opened as its museum in 1967, which holds six manuscripts used for the 1786 Kilmarnock Edition of Burns's poems, donated to the club in 1837, two of Burns's letters to David Sillar, first editions of the Kilmarnock and Edinburgh editions, a complete set of John Galt first editions, and a library of about 1,500 volumes on Burns, Galt and Scottish and local subjects, with a Burns Room decorated with murals painted in 1965.

The museum is open free of charge on set afternoons and to researchers by appointment, with a collection management system giving limited public catalogue access online. The club and its museum are separately registered Scottish charities, funded by members' subscriptions. Its programme includes an annual celebration in January, a roll of honorary members that has run since 1828, and a bicentenary exhibition in 2026, and its representatives take part in the Robert Burns World Federation. Past heritage projects with external support include Harbour Heritage and Forever19, the latter with North Ayrshire Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund between 2014 and 2016.

Currently active

Yes

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

1826

Contact details

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