Not long after moving into Ormewood Park, Kris LaRose discovered the neighborhood’s most unusual amenity. Across the street from his front door is the Burns Cottage, a 1910 granite and cement structure with a plaque identifying it as “a building unique in the world: the only exact replica of the Robert Burns cottage near Alloway, Scotland.”
The three-room building is home to the Burns Club of Atlanta, a literary society limited to 100 men dedicated to the Scottish bard Robert Burns, whose contributions to world literature include the famous “Auld Lang Syne.” Several times a year, LaRose and his neighbors are treated to the sound of bagpipes wafting down the street.
“It’s kind of neat,” said LaRose who moved to Ormewood 13 years ago. “When they have events, everyone comes in kilts and there are always bagpipers. That’s cool — you don’t hear bagpipes too often.”
LaRose’s 1913 home is on land once part of nine acres purchased by the club at the turn of the last century, before the area was inside Atlanta’s city limits. It bordered Confederate Avenue, where a proposed trolley line was to be built, and provided a sylvan setting for a clubhouse. Using the exact dimensions of Burns’ ancestral home, club members built the cottage, and on Nov. 5, 1910, laid the cornerstone. In 1966, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
To mark the cottage’s 100th anniversary, the club is opening its doors for a series of free literary evenings. The events begin at 6:45 p.m. tonight with a reading of Burns’ words by member George McClellan of Ellijay. The next two Wednesdays focus on Burns as a songwriter, music collector and preserver of the Scots dialect.
“There’s something about Burns and his dialect,” said member and event coordinator Walker Chandler with a laugh. “You need a book to figure it out, to know exactly what ‘Auld Lang Syne’ means.”
A literary series is a fitting way to celebrate the cottage and the famous poet, said club president Eddie Morgan, a native Scotsman who lives in Tucker. And it’s a rare chance for the public to get a peek inside.
“In the past, there was occasionally an open day for the neighbors,” he said. “The first time I remember it being open to everyone was during last year’s ‘Phoenix Flies’ event put on by the Atlanta Preservation Center. So this will be another chance for people to see what it’s like.”
Those heading to the lectures will find the cottage looking almost as it did 100 years ago, though it anchors only two acres below a canopy of towering pine and hardwood trees. Over the years, the club sold off most of the original plot to builders who erected modest bungalows on the adjoining lots. Discovering the cottage in such a residential setting is often a surprise, even to folks who know about Burns and his heritage.
“I was absolutely shocked when I learned about it,” said Morgan, who first encountered the club at the Stone Mountain Highland Games 10 years ago. “When I went and saw it, I was astounded by the quality of the building and how close to the original it really is.”
Morgan has visited the original Burns birthplace, now a museum with a thatched roof. The Atlanta replica yielded its thatching to asphalt shingles years ago. A few interior renovations have made it comfortable for meetings and other gatherings. The large main room, or the “byre” where animals were housed in the original, sports a smooth concrete surface. Flanked by two massive fireplaces, the room has high ceilings and walls lined with tartan clan banners of the club’s members. In the 1920s, an addition created a kitchen and restrooms, but little else has changed.
The “butt” or outer room did triple duty as the kitchen, dining room and parents’ bedroom; the “ben” served as a living and sleeping area. These smaller rooms are furnished in the style of the original, said club historian and 26-year-member Victor Scott Gregg.
“The kitchen is very much like the same room in Scotland, with a plate rack against one wall, two ovens beside the big fireplace, a grandfather clock on another wall, a kitchen table and a alcove for a bed,” Gregg said.
The “ben” now serves as a repository for the club’s memorabilia, a collection of Burns books and portraits, the official charter and historical photos. The bookcases include donations from various guest speakers such as former governors Richard Russell and Zell Miller.
The club plans an invitation-only celebration to mark the cornerstone laying, Morgan said.
“It’s a very special place,” he said. “There’s no doubt the club wouldn’t be what it is without it. The ones who built it have our everlasting gratitude.”
Event preview
The Burns Club of Atlanta at 100 years
The Burns Club of Atlanta marks the 100th anniversary of its historic building with a series of free events beginning tonight. “The Poetry of Robert Burns” will feature readings of the Scottish writer’s work. Oct. 20 highlights “Burns, the Songwriter and Music Collector,” followed by “Burns, the Preserver of the Scots Dialect” on Oct. 27. All events start at 6:45 p.m at the Burns cottage, 988 Alloway Place, Atlanta. RSVP to wlc3882@yahoo.com ; 770- 468-6538.
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