Bringing a Robert Burns watering hole back to life

The Sanquhar Enterprise Company has bought the property immortalised in verse by Robert Burns

When Scotland's national bard stopped off for a drink in Sanquhar, there was only one place he found acceptable.

Robert Burns liked the inn run by Edward Whigham so much that he immortalised it in verse, with At Whigham's Inn, Sanquhar.

The prominent property in the heart of the south of Scotland town has become much less welcoming in recent years and has fallen on hard times.

However, the local community has now stepped in with the hope of bringing the building back into use - with a nod to the poet who found it such a pleasant hostelry.

Ronnie Bradford said there was a lot of hard work ahead to bring the property back into use

Ronnie Bradford is the community development officer with the Sanquhar Enterprise Company (SEC) which recently bought the building for £30,000.

Now they hope it can be the subject of an overhaul likely to run close to costing £3m.

"We need to go down the route of trying to find the funding which, obviously, in today's landscape is going to prove challenging. But we are committed to doing something," said Ronnie.

The SEC was actually set up to with a view to taking over the town's historic post office when it looked like it might close for good.

A plaque on the building celebrates its connection to Robert Burns

Luckily that prospect was avoided, but now it has turned its attention to a similarly important building in the Upper Nithsdale town.

The old pub occupies a central site on the A76 that runs through the heart of Sanquhar and emerged as a key potential project from consultation with the community.

"It's a property that is on the High Street in a very prominent position and had been lying derelict for approximately 40 years," Ronnie explained.

"Dumfries and Galloway Food Share used it for a while as an office but it had basically just been left to rot by a succession of speculative owners who had bought it at auction and sold it."

It is hoped the building could bring affordable accommodation to the heart of Sanquhar

About four years ago the SEC started its efforts to look at taking it over, but the asking price proved too high.

However, in March this year it heard it might have come into range and - thanks to the Nithsdale Community Trust - got the funds together to snap it up.

Ronnie said the hard work would really begin now.

"We own the building, we've got the keys and the next stage is to see what we can do," he said.

A first "quick win" will hopefully be to improve the exterior look of the building before developing plans to bring it back into use - most probably as some kind of affordable housing.

The building occupies a prominent site next to the A76 which runs through the town

However, he said anything they did would recognise its significant past.

"We fully understand the importance of this building - not only in terms of Sanquhar, but it is also nationally important," he said.

"It fills a gap if you like between the established buildings that have Burns associations up in Ayrshire and down in Dumfries.

"This Upper Nithsdale corridor very much fills in this gap and we're delighted to have secured the building for that reason alone.

"We will make sure that we pay homage to the fact that the building has this historic and cultural significance."

He said that what the project might finally include was "very much up for discussion".

However, he said they felt that due to the housing crisis some kind of housing development was appropriate.

"We feel that it would be a major flagship in terms of our plans to bring back life and commerce to Sanquhar High Street," said Ronnie.

There could also be a community space or a heritage element - to recognise its Burns links.

"It was the only acceptable place in Sanquhar that he would either drink or stay at," Ronnie added.

"He obviously struck up a major friendship with Edward Whigham and his wife and we want to recognise and pay homage to that."

Robert Burns paid tribute to the pub in verse

In the process, they could help turn around a story familiar across the region and the rest of the country.

"We've got a problem with depopulation, we've got a problem of businesses falling by the way," said Ronnie.

"We've just lost the bank in the last few weeks.

"So we needed to do something to try and redress that balance and we see Whigham's Inn as being a potential major kickstarter to revitalising that."

He knows they have a long way to go in terms of raising funds - and getting work fully started.

However, by the end of it all, they hope they will have a building back in use which the bard would be proud of.

At Whigham's Inn, Sanquhar by Robert Burns

Envy, if thy jaundiced eye,

Through this window chance to spy,

To thy sorrow thou shalt find,

All that's generous, all that's kind,

Friendship, virtue, every grace,

Dwelling in this happy place.