Burns

ROBERT BURNS (1759 - 1796)

The celebrated Scots poet recalled that one of the formative influences on his talent was a book of ballads collected by Stockton-born Joseph Ritson (q.v.). He carried it in his pocket while working as a plough-boy. Burns made a trip through the Border country in 1787, crossing the Tweed at Coldstream. This part of Northumberland pleased him, it seems, but though Berwick is described by Pevsner as architecturally one of the most exciting towns in England, Burns' reaction is muted, with none of the historical musings the place prompted in George Borrow (q.v.) His journal entry is mild enough:

'Friday [18 May] - ride to Berwick - An idle town, but rudely picturesque - Meet Lord Erroll in walking round the walls.'

However, a tradition grew up that Burns took a dislike to Berwick and its citizens. He was supposed to have composed this verse, scratched on the window-pane of his lodgings:

Berwick is a dirty place.
Has a church without a steeple,
A middenstead at every door
And a damned deceitful people.

Holy Trinity, steeple or not, is that great rarity, an English church built c 1650 (by Colonel George Fenwick). There were very few churches built in the 17th century at all, and each is of architectural interest. Burns went on to visit Alnwick and Warkworth, and stayed the night in Morpeth. Later on his journey, he wrote a letter to Robert Ainslie from Newcastle on 25 May, complaining about his uninspiring travelling companions. He also wrote a letter on 5 May 1789 to his younger brother in Newcastle, where the latter had fallen in love. Burns is supposed to have 'collected' Auld Lang Syne from a street singer in Newcastle upon Tyne.

In The Autobiography of Anthony Errington, Errington speaks of encountering Burns in a Flesh Market pub in Newcastle. A man wept when the friends sang a Burns song and confessed that he was the author. Errington and his friends wined and dined the supposed poet, but alas, he must have been an impostor. The encounter seems to have taken place much later than 1787 when Burns was in the city for the only time.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
ROBERT BURNS (1759 - 1796) The celebrated Scots poet recalled that one of the formative influences on his talent was a book of ballads collected by Stockton-born Joseph Ritson (q.v.). He carried it in his pocket while working as a plough-boy. Burns made a trip through the Border country in 1787, crossing the Tweed at Coldstream. This part of Northumberland pleased him, it seems, but though Berwick is described by Pevsner as architecturally one of the most exciting towns in England, Burns' reaction is muted, with none of the historical musings the place prompted in George Borrow (q.v.) His journal entry is mild enough: 'Friday [18 May] - ride to Berwick - An idle town, but rudely picturesque - Meet Lord Erroll in walking round the walls.' However, a tradition grew up that Burns took a dislike to Berwick and its citizens. He was supposed to have composed this verse, scratched on the window-pane of his lodgings: Berwick is a dirty place. Has a church without a steeple, A middenstead at every door And a damned deceitful people. Holy Trinity, steeple or not, is that great rarity, an English church built c 1650 (by Colonel George Fenwick). There were very few churches built in the 17th century at all, and each is of architectural interest. Burns went on to visit Alnwick and Warkworth, and stayed the night in Morpeth. Later on his journey, he wrote a letter to Robert Ainslie from Newcastle on 25 May, complaining about his uninspiring travelling companions. He also wrote a letter on 5 May 1789 to his younger brother in Newcastle, where the latter had fallen in love. Burns is supposed to have 'collected' Auld Lang Syne from a street singer in Newcastle upon Tyne. In The Autobiography of Anthony Errington, Errington speaks of encountering Burns in a Flesh Market pub in Newcastle. A man wept when the friends sang a Burns song and confessed that he was the author. Errington and his friends wined and dined the supposed poet, but alas, he must have been an impostor. The encounter seems to have taken place much later than 1787 when Burns was in the city for the only time.
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