Pawkie's Close, Irvine

Pawkie's Close can be found in Irvine, directly across the street from the Bank of Scotland building on the High Street. A plaque commemorating John Galt can be found on the wall of the Bank building.

Pawkie Close is a narrow path between buildings leading east from the High Street and is typical of the many closes which would have led from the houses and businesses here.  Pawkie's Close is paved, and some of the slabs have words and phrases etched into them.  There is no information about where these quotes originated.

The Close was named after Provost Pawkie in one of John Galt's best loved books - The Provost which was published in 1822.  Pawkie in Scots means sly or cunning and Galt describes his character as:

 “exhibiting a tolerably correct picture of a Scottish borough, I had in view, while writing it, a gentleman, who, when I was a boy at school, had the chief management of the borough council in my native town.  I believed he was dead, and had no scruple about choosing him for my model.”

The man being described was Robert Fullarton (1740-1835) who was a councillor in Irvine for 42 years.  Read more about Galt and Irvine on a previous post - Galt and the Freedom of Irvine.

Yesterday on the anniversary of the birth of John Galt, a short ceremony took place at the Bank of Scotland building which replaced the house in which he lived as a child.  A floral tribute was placed on the wall beside the plaque.

A Provost in poor clothing

“I have complained to you before of the shabby appearance of my things.”

This is a quote from a letter John Galt wrote to William Blackwood from London on 18 May 1822.  He was complaining about the quality of the edition of his novel The Provost which had just been issued by Blackwood.

Galt's main concern was the quality of the paper on which the book had been printed and he goes on to tell Blackwood that he is sending part of The Steamboat and makes a suggestion about its printing –

“I hope you will not grudge to give it better paper, for I am mortified to see The Provost in such poor clothing compared with Pen Owen.”

William Blackwood, Publisher

Quite an indignant response from John Galt in comparing the quality of paper of his own novel with that of another novel published by Blackwood the same year – Pen Owen.  Pen Owen is thought to have been written by either James or Theodore Hook, the sons of composer James Hook (1746-1827),  

Blackwood's edition of The Provost by John Galt

Read more about John Galt's novel The Provost and a real life Provost of Irvine here.

(Provost in Scotland is the equivalent of a Mayor.)

John Galt at Makars' Court

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is a very popular tourist destination.  Near the top of the Royal Mile, is Lady Stair’s Close.  Here can be found Edinburgh’s Makars' Court - makar is the Scots word for poet or author - and the Writers’ Museum.  One of the first things you will see on entering Lady Stair's Close is this paving slab commemorating author John Galt with the words birr and smeddum.

John Galt slab in Makars' Court, Edinburgh

Birr and smeddum are Scottish words often used by Galt in his writing.  Birr usually means energy or enthusiasm and smeddum can mean strength.

Galt uses the term “birr and smeddum” in Annals of the Parish when describing a book by the son of a parishioner -

“And his mother had the satisfaction, before she died, to see him a placed minister, and his name among the authors of his country; for he published at Edinburgh a volume of Moral Essays, of which he sent me a pretty bound copy, and they were greatly creditable to his pen, though lacking somewhat of that birr and smeddum that is the juice and flavour of books of that sort.”

Galt uses the words individually.  In his work The Annals of the Parish, when Mrs Craig states to Mr Snodgrass –

“For my part, it’s a very caldrife way of life to dine every day on coffee; broth and beef would put mair smeddum in the men.”  

The word caldrife can mean, cold, cheerless.  In The Provost, one of the characters is called “Mr Smeddum”.  Also in the Provost is an account of a council meeting when the Provost relates -

“Mr Keelevine made an endeavour to dissuade me; but I set him down with a stern voice, striking the table at the same time with all my birr, as I said “Sir, you have no voice here.”

The courtyard called Makars' Court contains many other slabs commemorating Scottish writers and poets.  The Writers' Museum faces the courtyard and has fabulous exhibits of the life and works of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.  Unfortunately, there is nothing inside concerning John Galt – surely a great omission.

Galt and the Freedom of Irvine

Two hundred years ago, in September 1825, John Galt was awarded the Freedom of the Burgh of Irvine, the town of his birth.

Galt visited Irvine with his mother and sister to receive the honour.  He had just returned to Britain from his first visit to Canada on behalf of the Canada Company and was visiting his family.

In his Autobiography he writes –

“We had a long journey to perform in the course of that day, I stepped out of the post-chaise, at the door of the tollbooth, to wait on the magistrates, when, to my astonishment, I beheld my old friend alive, then a very venerable man, sitting in the chair.  The sight upon me for a moment was as an apparition, but I was recalled to myself by the manner in which he delivered the diploma, with an address; Provost Pawkie himself could never have said anything half so good.”

Provost Pawkie is Galt’s main character in his work The Provost.  “Pawkie” in Scots means sly or cunning and Galt describes his book as –“exhibiting a tolerably correct picture of a Scottish borough, I had in view, while writing it, a gentleman, who, when I was a boy at school, had the chief management of the borough council in my native town.”  Galt continues -“I believed he was dead, and had no scruple about choosing him for my model.”

The man being described was Robert Fullarton (1740-1835) who was a councillor in Irvine for 42 years.  Irvine Burns Club have a portrait of Fullarton which you can view here (you will need to scroll down to view it).

Aside from Galt’s surprise that the Baillie was still alive, he also had this to say about the man he met on that important September day in 1825 –

“His speech partook of his character, and evinced a degree of good sense, of tact, and taste, though delivered in the Scottish dialect, quite extraordinary.  Instead of speaking the sort of balderdash, common on such occasions, he passed over everything which related to myself, conceiving, as I suppose, that the honour of bestowing on me a burgess ticket, was a sufficient recognition of my supposed deservings; but he paid a well expressed compliment to the character of my father and mother, telling how much they were held in esteem by their townsfolk, and concluded with saying, that not the least proof of their merits was in bringing up their children to be worthy of a public testimony of respect.”

Perhaps not quite the testimonial John Galt was expecting, but presumably his mother would have been pleased to have been recognised!