Grose, Francis
1731 – 1791
A convivial soldier turned antiquarian, he travelled extensively around the United Kingdom recording castles and ecclesiastical ruins. He engaged with local antiquarians sometimes copying their drawings which formed the basis for the engraved plates which illustrated his publications. He also executed hundreds of his own works. His tour of Scotland was undertaken in the late 1780s and his 2-volume The Antiquities of Scotland appeared in 1791. In 1789 whilst undertaking his research Grose met the poet Robert Burns (1759-96) and encouraged him to write "Tam o'Shanter" to accompany an engraving of Alloway Kirk which appeared in Grose's publication. Grose over-stretched himself financially with his publications and after his death his family was forced to sell off his drawings to help meet his debts. In addition to our own holdings there is a large group of his work in the British Museum.
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