Summary
'IT IS possibly the most important place in the country connected to Burns," said Peter Westwood, and he should know. The honorary president of the Robert Burns World Federation adds: "This cottage is where he was born."
It is a view echoed by millions of Burns fans worldwide, yet the humble, thatched cottage and its adjoining museum in Alloway, Ayrshire, has fallen into disrepair. Years of neglect has seen damp eat into the fabric of the building, rain water leaks through the museum roof, while poor lighting and humidity are destroying the priceless artefacts inside. The state of the birth-place of Scotland's most treasured literary figure is now an embarrassment to a country that prides itself on its annual celebrations of the Bard's life.See the full content of this document
Extract
Our Heritage in Ruins
Fifteen months ago an ambitious plan to resurrect the site as a prime visitor attraction were unveiled by the Burns National Heritage Park, which runs the Burns Cottage Museum. The GBP 7m project promised a state-of-the-art visitor centre and museum to house its unrivalled collection alongside the preserved cottage. It was a grand scheme in comparison with the more modest GBP 2m regeneration plans announced by the park's board a year earlier. The change in plans, however, altered the application to funding bodies like the Lottery Heritage Fund and th...
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