Town battles to save tiny museum and former ale house linked to Robert Burns
The unique building has stood for more than 360 years but soon it could be locked up for the very last time
A tiny museum with a long history, including its time as an ale house in a bad part of town likely visited by Robert Burns in his role as an exciseman, is facing closure.
Residents are campaigning to save Old Bridge House Museum in Dumfries. The venue is one of three heritage sites facing closure as Dumfries and Galloway decides its budget for the next financial year.
Built on the 15th-century Devorgilla Bridge, Old Bridge House, which was added to the crossing in 1660 by a barrel maker and is the oldest house in the town, now serves as museum of everyday life.
Tour guide Fiona Lee, who is leading the campaign to save the museum, said that closing the attraction would be a short-sighted move when the town is ramping up its profile as a tourist destination with a firm place on the Burns map.
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The house served as an ale during most of the 1700s and into the 1800s, when Burns was an exciseman in Dumfries. He is likely to have visited the premises in a working capacity, although it is not thought he would have socialised there, given the poor reputation of the surrounding area, Maxwelltown, at the time.
Ms Lee, of Dumfries, said: “This historic building is not only the oldest house in the town, but is built into and upon the iconic Devorgilla Bridge, offering both residents and visitors an authentic link to the area’s rich past. Its loss as a cultural venue would diminish the heritage experience that helps define the character of the town.
“Old Bridge House Museum plays a very meaningful role to both local and visitor economies. As part of the heritage trail network along the River Nith, it draws people into the centre of Dumfries and complements other local attractions, often outnumbering them in terms of visitor numbers.
“Preserving the house as a public asset supports the vitality of the burgeoning tourist market, particularly the Robert Burns story, and reinforces the cultural identity that Dumfries is actively working to promote.”
Sanquhar Tolbooth and the Castle of St. John in Stranraer are also threatened with closure by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
The local authority is looking to find savings of £35 million over the next three years as demand for services outstrips funding.
The council, like most, is experiencing a demand on services such as homelessness and support for vulnerable families, alongside cost pressures in care, education and infrastructure.
Ms Lees said Old Bridge House had “modest running costs” and returned greater social and economic value to the town.
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The South of Scotland Destination Alliance, which is actively promoting Dumfries as part of its wider tourism strategy to generate £1 billion in tourist revenues from both the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway by 2034, said it had been in touch with the council about the future of Old Bridge House.
Burns farmed at Ellisland outside Dumfries from 1788 before moving into town in 1791. By then, he was already a patron of The Globe Inn.
A fresh focus on Burns’ connections to the town is underway.
Projects include the restoration of part of St Michael’s & South Parish Church, where the poet sat on the same pew every Sunday with his wife.
He was later laid to rest in its graveyard, in 1796, with his mausoleum and former home, now the Burns House Museum, central to the town’s Burns’ Quarter.
Dumfries and Galloway Council was contacted for comment.
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