Burns club
A Burns club is a social club that exists to encourage and cherish the memory of Robert Burns, to foster a love of his writings and generally to encourage an interest in the Scots Language and Literature. An emphasis on encouraging the young to take an interest in Burns is found in most clubs through poetry, singing and other competitions. Once mainly existing as 'male only' clubs in the mould of the Tarbolton 'Batchelor's Club' most now welcome women as fellow members. Ladies Burns Clubs also exist such as the 'Irvine Lasses' that was established in 1975; it has appointed several male 'Honorary Lasses'.
A number of Burns clubs hold collections of Burns' manuscripts, artefacts or memorabilia such as the Irvine Burns Club which holds the only surviving holograph manuscripts from the Kilmarnock volume of "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" printed and issued by John Wilson, Kilmarnock, on 31 July 1786. Many clubs also have libraries that contain volumes from the many printed works relating to the bard and to Scottish poets, history and culture. Bridgeton Burns Club in Glasgow is the largest club by membership circa 750 and attendees at annual dinner circa 600.
Annual wreath laying ceremonies are held to commemorate personal events such as the birth and death of the poet as well as other significant events in the Bard's life, such as the publication of the Kilmarnock volume.
Many clubs are affiliated to the Burns Federation now known as the Robert Burns World Federation that was formed in 1885 in Kilmarnock and local associations also exist such as the Ayrshire Association of Burns Clubs and the Southern Scottish Counties Burns Association. A feature of most Burns Clubs are annual celebration suppers near or on the anniversary of the poet's birthday, 25 January 1759. In 1959 Glasgow alone had 25 Burns clubs with a membership of around 4000.
Most Burns clubs have an open membership; however, some are by invitation, often due to lack of space within their premises such as with the Burns Club Atlanta, the Dumfries Burns Howff Club and the Paisley Burns Club. Most clubs are run by a committee with either Presidents or chairmen as the most senior officials usually serving a one or two-year term. Chains of Office are a distinctive feature of Burns Clubs and these may be inscribed with the names of Past Presidents.
Most Burns clubs use rented facilities for their meetings, however at least five clubs have their own premises, the Irvine Burns Club, the , the Howff Club of Dumfries, the Paisley Burns Club and the Burns Club of Atlanta. In 1920 'The Burns House Club' was inaugurated at India Street in Glasgow as a central meeting place for Burns Societies. The Burns Federation of the time met here quarterly.
Titles
Most clubs are named after the settlement in which they are located such as cities or areas within cities, towns, etc. A few clubs append a Burns linked term such as Cronies, Howff, Jolly Beggars, etc. The Alamo Burns Club is named after the inn in which its first Burns Supper was held and two Facebook clubs use Burns's name.History
The first Burns supper was established in around 1801, attended by Robert Aiken and the address was delivered by Hamilton Paul and within ten years many annual celebrations of the bard's life and works were taking place to the extent that the Reverend William Peebles, a target of Burns' wit, felt compelled to publish a poetical work entitled "Burnomania: the celebrity of Robert Burns considered in a Discourse addressed to all real Christians of every Denomination". By 2004 the Robert Burns World Federation alone had 400 clubs affiliated to it and these reflected a membership of approximately 60,000.Precedence
The is the 'Mother Club' and was instituted in 1801. It has had celebrations every year since. The Irvine Burns Club has an unbroken history dating back to its formation on 2 June 1826. Of the twelve founding members of the Irvine Burns Club, five were known to Robert Burns, two of whom were close friends of the poet. The Paisley Burns Club went into abeyance from 1836 to 1874.Bridgeton Burns Club
Founded at 13 Main Street, Bridgeton in East end of Glasgow in 1870 by John Wilson and some friends. It grew rapidly in terms of members including many doctors, lawyers and professionals, in part due to its President William Freeland around 1899 being a newspaper editor. It is a charity running a schools competition to this day and has a membership and annual dinner attendance of over 600, making it almost certainly the largest in the world. It federated in 1894 as number 49 on the roll. It has attracted many politicians, judges, Lords and celebrities to speak and been the subject of an early day motion in the Houses of Parliament on the occasion of its 150th anniversary in 2020.Although the Burns Club of London is recorded as No.1 on the Robert Burns World Federation list the Kilmarnock Burns Club was recorded as first on the register as '0'.
Alexandria Burns Club
The Alexandria Burns' Club was formed in 1884, and was federated in 1885 as No. 2 in the Federation list. Its first officials were Messrs Duncan Campbell, president; William Carlile, treasurer; and Alexander Bryan, secretary. Committee meetings have been held regularly since the formation of the club.The club holds an annual St Andrew's night celebration, but the main event is the annual supper, which is attended by up to 150 every year.
Burns Club of Atlanta
Officially organized in 1896, this Burns club is a private social club and literary and cultural society commemorating the works of Robert Burns. The club holds monthly meetings and an annual Burns Supper celebration on the anniversary of Burns' birthday every year since 1898. Events are held in the Atlanta Burns Cottage, which is a replica, apart from the thatched roof, of poet Robert Burns' birthplace in Alloway, built in 1909.Dalry Burns Club
Burns Club, established in 1825 at Montgomerie's Inn in Courthill Street, now the 'Turf Inn', has one of the longest, continuous record of Burns Suppers - surpassed only by Greenock. Other Burns Clubs were established at an earlier date, but none can match Dalry's unbroken record of annual celebration of the life and works of Robert Burns. The club is 'Number 35' on the role of the Robert Burns World Federation, which was not established until 1884.United Burns Club of Dunfermline
The 'Haggis Club' first Burns club in Dunfermline, formed on 25 January 1812 and continuing until 1820. The Dunfermline Burns Club came into existence on 26 January 1820 and then in 1847 the club joined with the Junior Haggis Club to become the United Burns Club of Dunfermline.Calgary Burns Club
The Calgary Burns Club was founded in 1974 and chartered in 1976. The genesis of the Calgary Burns Club, was a Burns Supper in 1964 held in the home of John and Lilian Patterson, in Calgary Alberta, Canada. This initiated a series of Burns Suppers hosted in turn by other Calgary Scots. In 1976, a group of members gave the club its charter, named Grant MacEwan as the club's patron, and became accredited by the Burns Federation. The club has been running annual Burns Suppers ever since. The Calgary Burns Club holds the memory of Robert Burns and the fellowship arising out of that memory to be one of the most important aspects of being Scottish Calgarians. The Calgary Burns Club fosters an interest in Scottish literature, art and music by sharing its talents with the community and through support of events involving Scottish cultural activities.Edinburgh Burns Supper Club
The Edinburgh Burns Supper Club was formed in 1848 by Burns' friend and publisher George Thomson and is No. 22 on the Robert Burns World Federation list. Its dinners were attended by Arthur Conan Doyle and John Buchan. It was suspended in 1986 but revived in 2007.Greenock Burns Club
The first Burns club, known as '', was inaugurated as the Greenock Ayrshire Society, in Greenock on 21 July 1801 on the 5th Anniversary of the Bard's death and the club is said to have held their and therefore the first Burns supper on 29 January 1802 in Alloway, but in 1803 it was discovered from the Ayr Parish records that James Currie had made a mistake and the correct date of birth was 25 January 1759. The club had several members who knew Burns, such as Alexander Dalziel, factor to the Earl of Glencairn at Finlaystone, Richard Brown, Burns's friend from Irvine and James Findlay, a gauger in Greenock who was married to one of the Mauchline Belles, Jean Markland. The club has held an annual celebration every year since its formation and has hosted many illustrious speakers during that time. These include Sir J.M. Barrie, Neil Munro, Lord Glenconner, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, Sir Patrick Dollan, Compton Mackenzie, Eric Linklater, Rev. Dr. H.C. Whitley, Sir Robert Boothby, W.D. Cocker, Professor Wm. Barclay and more recently, Lord Steel of Aikwood, Baron Wallace of Tankerness and Prof. Gerard Carruthers.Burns Howff Club of Dumfries
This club was formed in 1889 and joined the Robert Burns World Federation in 1899 as 'Number 112'. Meeting in the Globe Inn at Dumfries and named thus because this was Robert Burns' favourite Dumfries 'Howff' or pub. The club has had four active Club members as Federation President and these have been M. Henry McKerrow, H. George McKerrow, Provost Ernest Robertson and Albert Finlayson. The club membership is restricted to 120 as its club room within the Globe Inn has restricted space. An extensive library of books relating to Burns and his contemporaries is also located at the Globe Inn and a number of Burns memorabilia and artefacts.Irvine Burns Club
The Irvine Burns Club, originally formed in the Milne's Inn is now based in Wellwood House, Eglinton Street, and has an unbroken history dating back to 2 June 1826. The club had twelve founding members of whom five were known to Robert Burns, and two were once his close friends. The original minute of the meeting reads:"The subscribers agree hereby to form, and do now form ourselves into a Committee for the purpose of establishing a Club, or Society for Commemorating the birth of Robert Burns the Ayrshire Poet - and we agree to meet at an early day to get the preliminaries of the Club properly arranged."
The document is signed by John Mackenzie, M.D.; David Sillar, Bailie; William Gillies, Grain Dealer; John Peebles, Convener of Trades; James Johnston, Town Clerk; Robert Wyllie, Harbour Master; John Orr, Merchant; James Allan, Merchant ; Maxwell Dick, Bookseller; William Shields, Senior, Merchant; John Fletcher, Surgeon; and Patrick Blair, Writer.
Dr John Mackenzie, was the first club president. He had been a doctor in Mauchline, attended Burns' dying father at Lochlea in 1784 and married one of the "Mauchline Belles" before moving to Irvine in the capacity of personal physician to the Earl of Eglinton and his family. David Sillar, the first vice-president, had been a friend of Burns since his teenage years, was a member of the Tarbolton Bachelors Club, became a grocer, and finally an Irvine Council Bailie.