Robert Burns Family Flute Sounds Again After 150 Years
A rare early 19th-century boxwood flute owned by Robert Burns’ son has been restored and played for the first time in 150 years, supporting a campaign to preserve Ellisland Museum and Farm.
Restored Flute Brings Burns' Legacy to Life
A rare boxwood flute, once owned by James Glencairn Burns, son of poet Robert Burns, has been played for the first time in 150 years following a careful two-year restoration.
The instrument, housed at Ellisland Museum since the 1930s, was cleaned and conserved by experts Lydia Messerschmidt and Robert Biglio, overcoming damage from years of storage in a lived-in cottage.
Flautist Claire Mann, the only musician permitted to play the rare instrument, gently tested it in the same room where Burns composed many of his songs between 1788 and 1791.
The flute’s public debut took place at a private gathering in Edinburgh, where Mann played Burns songs from the Ellisland songbook alongside vocalist Robyn Stapleton and harpist Wendy Stewart.
The restoration is part of "Saving The Home of Auld Lang Syne," a fundraising campaign aiming to raise £7m to secure and transform Ellisland into a creative hub. Supporters include the Pilgrim Trust, National Lottery Heritage Fund and other bodies.
The revived Burns family flute connects modern audiences to the poet’s musical heritage while driving funds for Ellisland’s restoration.
This topic was reported by BBC.
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