Location
The Burns Garden, David Street, Stonehaven
Stonehaven, Kincardine
OS Map Reference
NO 875 862
Date
Various
Description
A small civic garden near the Cowie River crossing on the north side of the town centre.
The steel fabricated railings were created by 'The Stonehaven Horizon' a team volunteers when the garden was revamped in 2006. Various themes from Burns's poems are used in this garden, as well as the 'moosie' and the Thistle, along with the 'sun' logo of the Horizon Project Group. The plants in the garden are also those with Burns associations. The 'sun' logo is used throughout the town on various improvements that the group have been involved with.
The Laura Anne memorial a small sandstone memorial relief carved with a rose, inset with a granite plaque bearing the dedication (artist unknown) late 1990s.
The pre eminent raison d'être of the garden is the sandstone Bust of Scotland's most famous poet Robert Burns (b. 25 Jan 1759 Alloway d. 21st July 1796 Dumfries, at the age of 37). The entire piece is covered with references to Burns's poems - each of the four sides of the pedestal has a grotesque mask of one of his many characters along with an associated text. It was carved by Robert Taylor 'Ghosty Bob' - a local monumental mason and sculptor (his nickname a result of his work carving many gravestones).
This is the mark 2 version. Both works ultimately derive from the 1787 portrait by Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840). This seems to be regarded as the definitive image of Burns and has been used as a source for most of the huge number of later representations, it is certainly more flattering than the portrait painted by Peter Taylor in 1786.
Related Information
The bust was a commission given by an American who saw the original in Bob's garden, but it was never collected and the bust and pedestal were presented to Stonehaven Town Council in the mid 1950s. Bob was in his 80's when he did this one 50 years after creating the original. It was a commission from an-American who had seen the original. The first one that 'Ghosty Bob' did is in the garden of the house he built and adorned with other pieces of his work, Millburn, 8 Arbuthnot Street, Bridgefield, Stonehaven (see related artefact 'The First Burns Bust'). It has been restored in the recent past by Tom Church (sculptor and stonemason of Brechin).
The principal connection of Burns with the town is William Burnes - the poet's father who was born at Clochnahill (west of the A90 about 3 miles south west of Stonehaven) in 1721 and became, like his own father, a gardener. He had to leave his native county in search of work and, after a period spent in Edinburgh, arrived in Ayrshire in 1750 eventually becoming a tenant farmer, we also know Burns was in Stonehaven on 10th September 1787, where he met his cousin James Burness.
Era
1900s
Related Artefacts
Categories
Iconography
- animals in general
- human face or head
- plant
- sun
Creators
- Robert Taylor 'Ghosty Bob', Sculptor
- Unknown, Sculptor
- The Stonehaven Horizon project, community group
External Links
Photographer
- Martin Sim
Unavailable Data
- Information Source
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