Robert Burns & Highland Mary Statue

There's quite a story behind a wonderful statue of Robert Burns and Highland Mary!  This drawing was taken from the original statue which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1880.  The sculptor was Hamilton P MacCarthy of London.

It beautifully shows Scottish poet Robert Burns with his love Highland Mary.  They had a brief affair in the spring of 1786.  She moved to Greenock and died here in October of that year.  There is a memorial to her in Greenock Cemetery.  Burns wrote several lovely poems and songs in her honour.

The statue had been commissioned by Walter Macfarlane (1817-1885) who owned the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow.  In 1933 the statue was sold and eventually ended up in the possession of James Anderson of Greenock.  In the 1940s he offered the statue to Greenock Burns Club, but unhappy with where the Club and Greenock Corporation wished to place the statue, the matter was dropped.

Nothing more seems to have been heard about the statue until 1952 when James Anderson's nephew, who had inherited much of his estate, offered the statue to Bathgate Town Council who readily accepted his offer and placed the statue in Kirkton Park there.  Unfortunately over the years, the statue suffered at the hands of vandals and was eventually placed in a storage shed in the park for safety.

Photo - West Lothian Council

In 2007 some enterprising individuals got together and raised funds to have the statue refurbished.  In 2011 the statue was taken from storage at Kirkton Park to the workshop of Graciela Ainsworth, a specialist in conservation and restoration of artefacts. There it was to cleaned and new parts provided to replace those lost through vandalism.

In 2012 the statue was unveiled at its new home in the garden of the Bathgate Partnership Centre, now known as the Jim Walker Partnership Centre, where it can still be seen.  West Lothian Council issued a leaflet all about the statue and its restoration which you can download here.

The original sculptor, Hamilton P MacCarthy moved to Canada in 1886 and produced wonderful works, many for public spaces.  One of those can be found in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia - another Robert Burns and Highland Mary statue.  It is absolutely beautiful and cared for by the Friends of Beacon Hill Park.  Read more at their website here.

Photo - Friends of Beacon Hill Park

What a great story about twin statues divided by thousands of miles and both celebrating the love of Robert Burns for Highland Mary!  You can read and download a more detailed account of the Statue Saga by The Greenockian here.  You can also watch a short film all about Highland Mary and her links with Greenock by the Greenockian on YouTube.