John Burrell

Who is John Burrell?

John Burrell or John Burel was a Scottish poet and goldsmith.

He was the author of a poetical description of the entry of Queen Anne into Edinburgh in 1590, titled The Description of the Queenis Maiesties most honourable entry into the town of Edinburgh. Among the title-deeds of a small property at the foot of Todricks Wynd, Edinburgh, there was found a disposition of a house by John Burrel, goldsmith, yane of the printers in his majesties cunzie house in 1628. From the minuteness with which the poet describes the jewellery displayed on Queen Anne's entry, it appears that he had a special technical knowledge of such matters, and there is thus every reason to suppose him to have been identical with John Burrel of the king's mint. The poem, along with another by the same author, titled The Passage of the Pilgrims, divided into four parts, was published in Watson's Collection of Scots Poems and the former is also included in Sir Robert Sibbald's Chronicle of Scottish Poetry. Neither of the poems possesses any literary merit.