Monument & Well
Images & video footage coming soon...
We at Grants Braes are very aware that but for the efforts of one man, some seventy years ago, there would be little left for us to restore today. In 1932, Tranent businessman William Baxter FSA (Scot) lovingly created the monument close to the site of the cottage and restored the old well some 90 metres to its northeast. Both remain a fitting tribute to the Burns family to this day.
The monument stands on the A6137 roadside from Haddington to Bolton and indicates the former Grants Braes cottage stood nearby. In fact it stood in the woodland immediately adjacent to the monument and part of a wall and doorway has recently been exposed to public view for the first time in living memory. It has fallen into a state of modest disrepair and will be tastefully restored by a master stonemason with many years experience of such work.
The well, according to local folklore is from where, Agnes Broun, mother of the bard, carried the family's water supply, no mean feat considering the rough terrain and her advancing years.
Restored by Baxter in 1932 the 200th anniversary of Agnes's birth, an inscription reads:
"Drink of the pure crystals and not only be ye succoured but also refreshed in the mind. Agnes Broun, 1732 - 1820. To the mortal and immortal memory and in noble tribute to her, who not only gave a son to Scotland but to the whole world and whose own doctrines he preached to humanity that we might learn."
We have been unable to trace the quote as yet, but the language does not appear to be that of Tranent in the nineteen thirties!
Like the monument, the well will be tastefully restored, and with the safe access now provided by the woodland walkway, it will hopefully attract many more visitors.
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