Collective Architecture submits planning application for the restoration and renewal of Ellisland farm, once owned by Scotland’s beloved national poet, Robert Burns

The long-awaited restoration of Ellisland farm, near Dumfries, where Robert Burns wrote ‘Auld Lang Syne’, ‘Tam o Shanter’ and a quarter of his life’s work, takes a step closer as Collective Architecture submits a planning application to Dumfries & Galloway Council to authorise the proposed renewal programme.

Considered a national treasure because it remains largely unmodified, Ellisland farm shows how the Burns family lived at the height of the poet’s fame in the late 18th century. 

Considered a national treasure because it remains largely unmodified, Ellisland farm shows how the Burns family lived at the height of the poet’s fame in the late 18th century. 

Led by RIAS Advanced Accredited Conservation Architect Emma Fairhurst and supported by Architect Maisie Tudge, Collective Architecture will oversee plans to reverse historic damage to the buildings; provide secure, climate-appropriate storage for the museum collection, and restore Burns’s original cottage by removing modern additions and returning it to its 1791 condition.

Supported by the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, which safeguards the Category A Listed farmstead as a museum, the project aims to carry out necessary repairs and provide visitors with an immersive experience and improved accessibility. 

The project’s focus is on conserving the original A-listed 18th-century buildings. Several condition reports have identified these structures as being at risk, prompting urgent action to preserve them for future generations. 

Visitors’ first glimpse of Ellisland is fundamental to their experience of the site, and the trust’s ambition is to replicate what Burns would have seen when arriving at his home back in 1791.

The design intent is to make Ellisland feel like a place where history is lived, rather than displayed. It is not suggested as a single-attraction building, but as a sequence of experiences – arrival, orientation, courtyard heart, intimate domestic spaces, working farm structures, river and woodland edges – which are woven together through interpretation and landscape.

The interventions provide an opportunity for Ellisland to: 

• secure the future of the Category A-listed farmstead through fabric repairs 

• allow visitors to enjoy the historic and natural assests of the site 

• tell the unique storey of Robert Burns and his life at Ellisland 

• increase tourism, revenue and employment opportunities through the attraction.

Emma Fairhurst said it was a privilege to lead the design team for Ellisland Farm. 

“This is a site of deep historical and cultural value. We look forward to gaining planning consent from Dumfries & Galloway Council and then working closely with the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust to restore and enhance this remarkable place, ensuring its legacy is preserved and celebrated for generations to come.”

Joan McAlpine, Project Director at the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust said:

 “The aim is not to transform Ellisland, but to make it more like the place Burns created.

“The new images show how restrained the intervention will be. Modern facilities are necessary if we are to safeguard the site for the future, but they are designed to sit quietly within the farmstead, not compete with it.

“By restoring the cottage to what Burns would recognise, and opening every room to the public, we will give visitors an experience of Burns’s home that has never before been possible.”

Collective Architecture was appointed by the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust in July 2025 to undertake the design work.

Formed in 2020, the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust continues to manage the house and farm as a museum and is supported by a team of dedicated volunteers.