NORTH Ayrshire Council is taking important measures to ensure a famous memorial with links to Robert Burns is secured for generations to come.

The Bonnie Lesley memorial in Stevenston is to be temporarily taken away to allow it to be assessed and refurbished by conservation architects.

The 200-year-old white obelisk was erected near the birthplace of the person it immortalises - Lesley Baillie.

She inspired Burns to write the poem Bonnie Lesley and the Bard also described her as “the most beautiful, elegant woman in the world”.

Lesley Baillie (1768–1843) was born at Mayville, Stevenston, and married Robert Cumming of Logie, Morayshire. She is said to have met Burns in 1792 while travelling through Dumfries and he went on to bring her fame as “the immortal goddess” in two of his poems.

Burns went on to say that Almighty God had “made the most beautiful perfect woman and broke the mould so that no other could be made. Even the devil could not tempt her.”

The memorial was originally erected in 1784 by Lesley’s father Robert Baillie as a memorial to his wife May Reid and his other daughter Grace, near the site of the family home, Mayville House. It was originally situated in an area known as the ‘Monument Park’ near Kerelaw Mains Farm.

Lesley’s name was added in 1929 when the monument was re-erected nearby on its present site at Glencairn Street by members of the Robert Burns World Federation after it had fallen into a state of disrepair. It is now maintained by North Ayrshire Council.

Local Councillor Jim Montgomerie, Cabinet member for Place, said: “The restoration of the Bonnie Lesley memorial is an issue I have been raising on behalf of the people of Stevenston for a number of years so I’m delighted that the work is now progressing.

“Bonnie Lesley has a special place in the town’s history so it’s reassuring to know that the memorial will be refurbished by conservation experts to ensure it will continue to be source of pride for Stevenston for generations to come.

“All the dialogue I have had with Council Officers over the years has now paid off and I am delighted that we have the outcome which I have been pressing for.

“I pass the monument every day and there has not been a day that I have not looked up to it, hoping that I could get it restored for the people of Stevenston. It has taken a long time but it will be well worth it once the memorial is back in its rightful place.”

The monument is scheduled to be taken down in the next two to three weeks to be assessed and refurbished by a conservation architect.