Since Ayrshire is Burns country and I’ve just returned from there, I thought I’d add more to the Burns theme by introducing you to the cottage of Souter Johnnie in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. Souter Johnnie was a character from the famous Tam O’Shanter poem which Burns wrote in 1790 and is based on one of his drinking buddies, John Davidson (1728-1808), who lived in the cottage from 1786. (Souter means cobbler.)
John Davidson was the village shoemaker and his work shop was inside the cottage.
The rest of the cottage consisted of two further rooms, one being the kitchen presumably (it is used as the reception area by the Trust these days), and the other being the parlour which also doubled as a bedroom. There was also a loft area which was too dark to photograph. I have to apologise for the blur in some of the photos as I had to switch off the flash.
There are two framed beds, one for the adults and one for the children, plus the little wooden cradle to the front. The beds are smaller than a normal-sized double bed by today’s standards.
The beds are to the right of this picture.
The glass case (under the light) in the corner holds the real family Bible which contains a record of births and deaths in the family. I wish that tradition had been kept!
Heading outside, the path leads to a restored alehouse which contains sandstone character statues created by James Thom in the 1830s. Here we see Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnnie.
