Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace

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Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace is a house in Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK, in which Thomas Carlyle, who was to become a pre-eminent man of letters, was born in 1795.

Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace
As it appeared in 1904
LocationEcclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway
Coordinates55°03′33″N 3°15′51″W / 55.059144°N 3.264246°W / 55.059144; -3.264246
Listed Building – Grade A
Official nameArched House including Carlyle's Birthplace
Designated3 September 1971
Reference no.LB10065
Interior

The house was built in 1791 by Carlyle's father James and James' brothers John and Tom, stonemasons all.[1] It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, registered as a Category A listed building.[2] Architecturally, the home exemplifies 18-century Scottish Vernacular.[3] It first opened to the public in 1881 and remains much as it was then. Many of Carlyle's belongings are housed along with a collection of portraits and photographs relating to his life.[4] Carlyle lived here with his brother John Aitken Carlyle who would go on to translate Dante's Inferno into English.[5] It was from here that Thomas Carlyle walked nearly one hundred miles in order to attend the University of Edinburgh at the age of 13, intending for the ministry.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Sloan, John MacGavin (1904). The Carlyle Country. London Chapman & Hall. p. 30.
  2. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "ECCLEFECHAN VILLAGE, HIGH STREET, ARCHED HOUSE INCLUDING CARLYLE'S BIRTHPLACE (LB10065)". Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  3. ^ Scotland, National Trust for (3 March 2022). "Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace". National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. ^ "National Trust for Scotland, Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ^ Dante Alighieri (1849). Dante's Divine comedy: The Inferno. Translated by Carlyle, John Aitken. New York: Harper & Brothers.
  6. ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1887). "Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 9. London: Smith, Elder & Co.