The Influences of Robert Burns
farming
When Burns moved to Ellisland (1788) on the banks of the Nith, North of Dumfries, he was sole tenant for the first and only time.
Ellisland, Scotland
1800s Steel Engraving from Blackie & Sons
view close up of image
Farming Before The Agricultural Revolution
At the time of the Union of 1707 the country was farmed by a system that had matured in the Middle Ages. It was suited to a population scattered in isolated groups, and was heavily dependent on the natural resources of timber, peat and self regenerating grazing. Markets were local affairs and although there were well established patterns of trade and communications, they provided only a minor part of the economic turn over. Produce was mostly for local consumption. Far from being the simple life, it was one of complication that we would probably find impossible to understand today. People had to rely on their ingenuity to find resources, from the materials to build and heat their houses to means of coping with famine and disease. The arrangements by which communities pooled their labour.
In years of plenty the old-style farming could afford a sufficient if simple, living, but it was unstable. There was a severe imbalance in the feed available for livestock between summer and winter. A bad season, and it was hunger. A really bad season, and it was famine. In Ayrshire into which Robert Burns was born farming was done according to the old ways.
The Dwellings
The houses of the Ayrshire farmers followed a basic pattern common to most of
the country - a long-house which contained dwelling, byre, stable and barn,
all joined together in a straight row. The dwelling and byre, which sometimes
included the stable, were the central unit. This was divided by a central passage,
the throwe-gang, that connected the front and back doors. The front door gave
on to the midden, and through it went people and beast alike.
By The Fireside
Dominating the dwellings was the fire. In the Ayrshire farmhouse this was a square area near the internal gable, and over it, supported on posts was the lum, to funnel the smoke upwards. It was thus possible to get round the fire on three, and sometimes four sides, two of which would have settlers or forms, (benches with a back rail). In a full house these could also serve for sleeping.
