The Patons of Wooers’ Alley

That the Parliament congratulates Fire Station Creative, an art centre in Dunfermline, which houses artists’ studios, a classroom, gallery and café, for the launch of an exhibition to celebrate the Patons, an esteemed family of artists who lived in a house called Wooers’ Alley Cottage in Dunfermline in the 19th century; understands that Sir Joseph Noel Paton, best known of the three siblings, became Queen Victoria’s Painter and Limner for Scotland and is recognised for his elaborate depictions of fairies and other mythological scenes, as well as being an important contributor to the Pre-Raphaelite movement; appreciates that the father, Joseph Neil Paton, a damask designer and passionate collector of Scottish artefacts, opened his home, Wooers’ Alley Cottage, as a museum to the public in the 1850s with items on display, including suits of armour, furniture from royal Scottish palaces, and the toe bone, or metatarsal, of Robert the Bruce, which was found during the building of the new part of Dunfermline Abbey; understands that the Wooers’ Alley Cottage was demolished in the 1920s and the area has more recently become polluted, overgrown and attracted antisocial behaviour; welcomes, however, that alongside this exhibition will be a community consultation on restoring the Wooers’ Alley garden to its former glory, so that it can once more provide inspiration to local people and visitors, as it once did for the Patons; commends Cat Berry, a direct descendent of Sir Joseph Noel Paton, for bringing forward the original concept for an exhibition about Wooers’ Alley; recognises that Ms Berry has already created The Amelia Trail to celebrate Sir Joseph’s sister, Amelia Paton Hill, who was an accomplished sculptor at a time when few women gained recognition in the world of art, with Amelia creating the world famous effigy of Robert Burns in Dumfries, as well as the large statue of explorer David Livingstone near Waverley Station in Edinburgh, and welcomes the fact that, once people have learned more about the Patons through the exhibition at Fire Station Creative, they will be able to further explore their work through a walking trail, which, it is hoped, will build on Dunfermline’s new City status to help showcase the city’s rich cultural heritage by telling the story of this remarkable Dunfermline family and their importance in Scotland’s history.