Officially opened in 2009, the Burns Monument Centre is a marriage suite, registration service and archive centre. It is Scotland’s first purpose-built centre for researching ancestral history.

The Centre is also a fantastic new building to visit as it contains some wonderful exhibits as well as an archive store, family and local history research room and also conference and function facilities.

The original monument was opened in 1879 to celebrate the life and works of the great Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns (1759-1796). Although Robert Burns was in fact born in Alloway, he came to Kilmarnock in 1786 to have his now famous works printed by the Kilmarnock Edition. The monument itself was designed by a Kilmarnock architect named Robert Ingram and the statute of Burns was created by Edinburgh sculptor W. Grant Stevenson.

This picture was taken around 1974.

The labrador was named Bracken and this is what the fountain looked like in 1974.

Picture on the left was taken from

the top of the original tower. Picture

on the right shows the fountain as

it looked in 1974.

A huge fire caused considerable damage in November 2004 and most of the rear section collapsed, with only the front stairs, porch and a few walls remaining.

Restoration works commenced in 2007 and planning permission was granted to add a new extension to house the marriage suite and other facilities.

Once again, the Burns Monument is one of the most prominent features of Kilmarnock and is an important part of the town’s history.