We received the generous gift of a letter in the hand of Robert Riddell from Professor Gerrard Carruthers, one of the world’s leading Burns scholars and a valued member of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust.
Captain Robert Riddell was a contemporary of Burns, and the laird of Glenriddell (now Friar’s Carse). Riddell was so fond of Burns that he gave the poet keys to the Hermitage on his property so Burns could use it to write.
Professor Carruthers says: ‘Robert Riddell is an important collaborator for Robert Burns in the Ellisland years. Although not directly related to Burns, this letter in Riddell’s hand is a fine memento of a crucial figure in the poet’s life and in the cultural life of eighteenth-century Nithsdale.’
We are so excited to add such an important piece of Nithsdale history to our collection here at Ellisland Farm & Museum