MAUCHLINE

village, situated near the River Ayr in East Ayrshire council area, historic county of Ayrshire, Scotland, and closely associated with the Scottish national poet, Robert Burns. It is the site of the Burns National Memorial. Mauchline has many links with the poet, who lived with his brother Gilbert at nearby Mossgiel from 1784 to 1788. In Castle Street stands a house, now a museum, in which Burns and his mistress Jean Armour once stayed. Mauchline churchyard was the scene of The Holy Fair; the Jolly Beggars met at Poosie Nansie's, still a popular inn. Today the village is chiefly residential but also provides services to the surrounding agricultural region. Pop. (1991) 3,931.