Located in an 18th-century former water-powered corn mill on the west bank of the River Nith in Dumfries, this museum highlights the connections which existed between Scotland's poet, Robert Burns (1759-96) and the town of Dumfries. Audio-visual presentations highlight Burns' later life in Dumfries and of life in general in the town in the late 18th Century. There are many original Burns documents and relics on display, but the centre-piece is a sizeable model depicting the Burgh of Dumfries in 1794.
The auditorium used for the audio-visual presentation during the day becomes the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre in the evening and screens a diverse range of popular, art-house and foreign-language films. Seating up to 69 people, it was described as one of the best small cinemas in the UK by the Guardian newspaper in 2008.
There has been a mill on this site since ancient times, but the present Dumfries or Town Mill building dates from c.1781, the work of Andrew Meikle (1719 - 1811), and was extended c.1840. It originally comprised five storeys, but was reduced to the present three when the building was converted to a hydro-electric power station in 1911. It became the Robert Burns Centre 1986.
