Robert Burn - Old Calton Burial Ground

The work of architect Robert Burn (d. 1815) includes Nelson's Monument on Calton Hill. This imposing family vault says nothing of his works. He was a respected architect by most, but not by his near-namesake Robert Burns, who commissioned Burn to erect a monument over the grave of his hero and inspiration, the poet Robert Fergusson who died in the poorhouse and is buried in Canongate Churchyard, visible from the southern reaches of Old Calton. Such commissions were normal, as many architects specialised in funerary monuments. On this occasion Burns was less than happy, as he indicated in a letter: "Five pounds ten shillings per account, I owe Mr R Burn, architect, for erecting the stone over the grave of poor Fergusson. He was two years in erecting it after I had commissioned him for it, and I have been two years in paying him after he sent me his account, so he and I are quits!" Both William and John Burn, his sons, were also eminent architects, and are also buried here, but with no specific memorial