A PLAQUE has been unveilved to celebrate the famous Scots pet Allan Ramsay in Carlops.

MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Christine Grahame unveiled a plaque to celebrate the famous Scots poet Allan Ramsay at the hotel with the same name in Carlops at the weekend.

The unveiling was part of a two-day festival to celebrate the famous Scottish poet and also marked the launch of a new cultural heritage resource centre dedicated to his life and works.

Rosemary Brown and Kenny Hall, licensees of the Allan Ramsay Hotel in Carlops are working with rural pubs champions “Pub is The Hub” to diversify their services to support the community in the first scheme of its kind in Scotland.

Ms Grahame said: “I was absolutely delighted to accept Rosemary and Kenny’s invitation to unveil the plaque, my first ever. Allan Ramsay is one of Scotland’s most important literary figures and so it is wonderful to see him dedicated in this way.

"His son, also Allan, was a famous portrait artist whose subjects included Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora McDonald.

“It is great to see that Rosemary and Kenny have included the whole community in the diversification of the pub by devising a questionnaire.

"They told me that what came through in the responses was that the village wanted to celebrate the connection with both Ramsays.”

The coaching inn was built in 1792 in recognition of poet Allan Ramsay, more than 30 years after his death.

As a regular visitor to the area it became the affectionate inspiration for some of his work. 

The inaugural Allan Ramsay Festival took place on Friday and Saturday with support from Professor Murray Pittock and Professor Gerry Carruthers of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow, as well as local musical and theatrical groups and featured talks, workshops, an exhibition, a guided walk, a magazine and an Allan Ramsay dinner.