Potterrow was where Agnes (Nancie) McLehose lived. Originally from The Saltmarket area of Glasgow, she was the daughter of a Glasgow surgeon and had married a bullying lawyer named James.

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Burns and Agnes were to meet at a tea party in Alison's Square. Her love for poetry charmed him and they decided to meet again at Potterrow. However Burns hurt his knee and the meeting did not take place.

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Thereafter though, the two started writing intense letters to one another. To protect her married status, they wrote under the names of Clarinda and Sylvester. They also shared time together, thought to be mostly platonic.

 

The servant of Agnes, who often delivered the letters gave birth to a son of Burns. Sylvester and Clarinda's relationship might be described today as 'it's complicated' and although it came to an end it was filled with mutual love.

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Burns wrote Ae Fond Kiss about Agnes. A poignant tribute. Today the area is linked to Edinburgh University and after much debate a plaque in the memory of Clarinda is mounted at the corner of Potterrow.

 

Agnes played a starring role in the varied romantic life of Burns with one of his best known romantic poems stemming from those love letters ...