Scottish Burns Club

Overview

According to the 1915 Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, this Burns club had 101 members and nine life members on its roll in 1914. This is the only evidence we have in regards to the size of the group, so it is currently not possible to determine the fortunes of the club prior to this date.

The yearly session ran from October to April. The time of the meetings changed back and forth from 7.30pm to 8pm. The club met on the first Wednesday of the month in 1907, and in the following year and thereafter until 1914 (at least), on the first Thursday of the month. Between 1907 and 1912, meetings were held at the City Commercial Restaurant, which was located at 60 Union Street (next to Glasgow Central Station). In 1913, the group moved to An Old Oak Tea Room at 142a St. Vincent Street, to the west of the city centre.

The club’s objects also changed over the years. In 1907, members met for ‘literary and social’ purposes, to which was added ‘musical’ in the following year. In the subsequent years, ‘a better knowledge of Scottish literature’, and a promotion of ‘Burnsiana’ was also included. Interestingly, it was only in 1912 that temperance was listed as one of the features that characterised this club.

Date of Existence

25 January 1904-? Federated 27 February 1906

Source of Information

1. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1907’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1907), pp. 173-74;

2. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1908’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1908), p. 126;

3. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1909’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1909), p. 176;

4. ‘Club Notes’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XIX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1910), p. 187;

5. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1911’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1911), pp. 173-74;

6. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1912’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1912), p. 177;

7. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1913’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1913), pp. 199-200

Repository

Mitchell Library (MLSC)

National Library of Scotland (NLS)

Reference Number

BNS19BUR (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

General Reading Room (stored offsite), Y.233, available no. 1-34 25th Jan. 1892-Jan. 1925 (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

Additional Notes

BC‘ refers to the Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, which was published yearly since 1892. Copies are available at the Mitchell Library Special Collections and the National Library of Scotland. Many of these have been digitised and are available through the Robert Burns World Federation website: http://www.rbwf.org.uk/digitised-chronicles/.

This list of Burns chronicles as sources of information gives the first year the club was included in the chronicle, and thereafter only for the years where the information is different from the previous year’s listing. In keeping with the scope of this study (1800-1914), only the chronicles published between 1892 and 1914 are included.