The last straw! Climate change takes its toll on Burns’ cottage
THE thatched roof on Robert Burns’ cottage may have to be replaced every ten years due to the changing climate.
The property was built in 1757 by his father, William Burnes, and was where the bard was born in 1759.
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which looks after the property, in Alloway, Ayrshire, says that the thatching used to last for up to 30 years.
But with the weather getting wetter and warmer it now lasts just a third of that time – while specialists with the skills to carry out the work are becoming rarer.
Conservation work is under way after an urgent public appeal was launched last year to save the cottage. Currently closed to the public, renovation on the exterior started last week in spite of the recent storms.
Masonry work has begun and new thatch is due to arrive today. The repairs are expected to be completed by April.
Caroline Smith, manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, said: ‘The cottage was re-thatched in 2009 and I think we expected it to last longer than it has.’
Ian McLelland, NTS manager for Ayrshire & Arran, said: ‘We are finding that the warmer and wetter summers that we’ve had over the last 30 years are rotting the thatch far quicker than in the past, so we’re getting moss on it which holds water in.’
The public appeal raised around £135,000 for conservation work at the cottage. Locating workers with the traditional skills required for such work has posed another problem for the trust.
Mr McLelland added: ‘Trying to find a thatcher was one of the major jobs we had and we were even talking to a thatcher in North America.
‘It’s not a simple thing and the problem with all these old buildings is you do not want to change them, you don’t want to damage them and you need to keep the traditional skills.’