Restoration gets under way of thatched building linked to Robert Burns

The restoration of a freemasons’ club where Robert Burns learned to dance has commenced with the entire building being re-thatched.

The Bachelors’ Club, in Tarbolton, South Ayrshire, was co-founded by Rabbie Burns in a 17th Century thatched cottage, a few years before his first collection of poems was published.

In the late 1700s it was a hub of male social activity where Scotland’s Bard Burns became a freemason, learnt to dance and created a debating society, and his “10 rules of membership” has been preserved by custodians the National Trust for Scotland.

The 300-year-old cottage is one of about 220 thatched buildings remaining in Scotland, and is being restored by thatchers from Yorkshire due to a skills shortage, using reeds from a RSPB reserve in Tayside.

The Grade-A listed building which is in the vernacular style of the era, was described as “an important site in the history of Burns’ life” by Caroline Smith, operations manager at the site.

An eight-week project to repair the roof, co-ordinated by the National Trust for Scotland which cares for the building, has started – which will cost £330,000 in a joint bid to restore another Burns legacy building, Souter Johnnie’s Cottage, in Maybole, South Ayrshire, which needs thatch maintenance.

The team will work on reforming the ridge of the thatch of Bachelors’ Cottage in a more traditional timber board finish, rebuilding a brick chimney head in traditional stone, carrying out repairs to roof timbers, replacing lead valleys and flashings with neighbouring properties, and repairing stone skews.

A second phase planned for early 2025 will look at the external elevations and internal finishes.

Other trades including joiners, stonemasons, and roof workers will be involved and an archaeologist will record any findings of interest or importance.

Reeds removed from the building will be used for mulch at a nearby farm to minimise waste.

Next year, workers renovating both buildings will peel back the paint and plaster, repair the brick and stone, and then the exterior of the buildings will be covered with harling, a protective mixture of lime and aggregate.

Donations of £130,000 are needed for the works to be completed on the “iconic” sites with NTS launching a fundraising appeal.

The conservation was facilitated by the Historic Environment Scotland Partnership Fund Grant of £1,062,000 over 2023-26, a partnership that enables the charity to not only carry out vital work but to support the continuation of traditional crafts and skills.

Laura Baillie, building conservation surveyor at the National Trust for Scotland, said: “This is a really special project that has taken a huge amount of logistical coordination.

“From appointing skilled tradespeople, which is a challenge in itself with traditional trades like thatching, to sourcing the reed and appropriate materials, we have worked hard to ensure we are preserving this 300-year-old building in a way that is both sustainable and true to its heritage.

“We’ve also included our trust network and local communities by appointing local tradespeople where possible, and hopefully providing an element of upskilling as they observe the thatchers at work. We owe a lot to the people around us who support projects like this.”

Caroline Smith, operations manager at Bachelors’ Club, said: “This is such an important site in the history of Burns’ life and an important 17th Century building in its own right. With so few thatched buildings remaining in Scotland, this is vital conservation work.

“This is the first phase of a larger project, with the next phase including repairs to the external and internal walls, as well as carrying out thatch maintenance at Souter Johnnie’s Cottage in Ayrshire, another historical link to Burns. We are dedicated to preserving these important buildings for everyone to enjoy for many years to come.”

For more information about the project, or to make a donation to these works, people can visit nts.org.uk/burnsappeal