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Tannahill Search Engine

Robert Tannahill 1774-1810.

This website commemorates Robert Tannahill and is intended to be a resource for all those interested in the poet's life, songs, poems and letters.

ROBERT TANNAHILL'S COTTAGE

Recently re-roofed after a serious fire.

PLAQUE IN COTTAGE WALL.

Often referred to as "Paisley's son", Robert Tannahill left a unique legacy of songs and poems, many of which were inspired by the wild flowers and birds found on the landscapes of the Gleniffer Braes and the woods and burns surrounding the Paisley of his day. Often these landscapes assume romantic and metaphoric associations with figures dear to the poet's heart.

The Gleniffer Braes is one of the most frequently mentioned landscapes of Tannahill's work. In late Victorian times Tannahill concerts were performed in the Glen, admission being by Glenfield Lodge. It was as a result of funds raised from these events that the statue, [illustration shown under] which stands next to Abbey, was erected. Walking on the Braes, especially on the Tannahill walkway, is as popular today as it was in Tannahill's time, perhaps even more so since the Gleniffer Braes is now an attractive country park.

STATUE OF ROBERT TANNAHILL, PAISLEY ENGRAVING OF ROBERT TANNAHILL

PORTRAITS OF TANNAHILL.

A couple of images of Robert Tannahill. The statue left is in dire need of a clean, as indeed is much of Paisley's civic sculpture. The last sentence was written in 2009 and since then the civic statuary in central Paisley has been cleaned. Underneath is what the 'new' Tannahill statue looks like.

Robert Tannahill statue, recently cleaned

TANNAHILL'S WELL.

Next to this old, crumbling, almost forgotten well is a sign advising that the water is no longer safe to drink. Alas! Also, needless to say, the sign has been vandalised. The monumental well was erected by William Fulton in memory of Robert Tannahill. 'Fulton of the Glen,' a successful businessman of humble circumstances, acquired The Glen in 1850. This now forms the 'Glen Park' area of the Braes network.

A TRIBUTE BY TANNAHILL TO ALEXANDER WILSON

The Council went through a phase of inserting quotations by local worthies into the paving stones around Paisley town centre. This one is a tribute by Tannahill to Alexander Wilson, the poet and ornithologist. A statue of Wilson stands adjacent to the one of Tannahill close to the Abbey.