Alloway Kirk

The Alloway Auld Kirk stands in Alloway, South Ayrshire, as a roofless 16th-century ruin. It is best known as the setting for the witches’ dance in Robert Burns’s poem ‘Tam o’ Shanter’. The churchyard holds the graves of William Burnes, the poet’s father, and his sister Isabella Burns Begg. Other notable figures buried there include David Cathcart, Lord Alloway. William Burnes once tried to keep the ruined grounds tidy despite the building’s decay. The poet also wrote an epitaph for his father, now carved on the memorial stone. The site is linked to Burns’s life and work in several ways. Burns gave a friend a snuffbox made from wood taken from the kirk’s rafters. Another man removed the remaining rafters to sell as souvenirs, making a profit. The church itself is protected as a scheduled monument, while the graveyard is listed at Category B. In 2008 the restored kirk and graveyard were reopened by the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. Visitors find the roofless church walls standing among weathered gravestones. The surrounding kirkyard is quiet, with grass and mature trees. The memorial to William Burnes and the graves of the poet’s family lie close together. The ruined building’s stonework shows the marks of centuries. Nearby, the village of Alloway adds to the historic atmosphere.