Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace is a house in Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK, in which Thomas Carlyle, who was to become a pre-eminent man of letters, was born in 1795.
| Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace | |
|---|---|
 As it appeared in 1904 | |
| Location | Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway |
| Coordinates | 55°03′33″N 3°15′51″W / 55.059144°N 3.264246°W |
Listed Building – Grade A | |
| Official name | Arched House including Carlyle's Birthplace |
| Designated | 3 September 1971 |
| Reference no. | LB10065 |
The house was built in 1791 by Carlyle's father James and James' brothers John and Tom, stonemasons all.[1] It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, registered as a Category A listed building.[2] Architecturally, the home exemplifies 18-century Scottish Vernacular.[3] It first opened to the public in 1881 and remains much as it was then. Many of Carlyle's belongings are housed along with a collection of portraits and photographs relating to his life.[4] Carlyle lived here with his brother John Aitken Carlyle who would go on to translate Dante's Inferno into English.[5] It was from here that Thomas Carlyle walked nearly one hundred miles in order to attend the University of Edinburgh at the age of 13, intending for the ministry.[6]