THE OLDEST INN

Evening Star, Issue 14512, 2 November 1910, Page 10

THE OLDEST INN

The Saracen’s Head, Glasgow, which long graced the Callow gate, might have voicea the claims of being tho oldest tavern in Scotland but for modern vandal ism. Here Dr Johnson and the faithful Boswell, Tobias Smollett, Gray of Glegfame, Wordstvorth, and many other celebrities are known to have rested. In the absence of this famous hostelry, a passing reference is due to the Hole i’ the Wa’ Inn, which stands in a quaint passage that runs from the High street of Dumfries. Apart from its associations with the convival days of the eighteenth century, this old-time tavern boasts the largest private collection of Burns relies that is to be found in Scotland. Mr John Thomson, the genial landlord, to whom the unique collection belongs, spent some years in New Zealand, and is sprung from a family that was located in Dumfries during The lifetime of the poet. Mr Thomson is a familiar figure at wellknown London salerooms, on the look-out for “relics.”—Liverpool ‘Weekly Mercury,’ September 3.