The original members were the men who first sat round the festive board of the Dalry Burns Club,
in the garret of John Montgomerie's inn, in 1826. This garret was 18 feet from front to back, and
15 feet wide. There were two beds in it with a passage between. This passage was about 4 feet 6 inches
wide by 4 feet long, leading to a door at the top of the stair. Their table was 9 feet long by 3 feet
wide and, although there were 20 of them, they seemed to have sufficient room if perhaps a little crowded.
The Chairman had his back to the fireplace, and the Croupier had his back to the passage between the two
beds leading to the door. But although they may have been a little bit crowded, it did not dampen their
enthusiasm. It did not matter in the least. What did matter was that they were in a comfortable place.
A place where they could sing their songs, give their toasts, and tell their anecdotes with all the pleasure
that a band of intelligent cronies had. This place is very aptly described by one of the early members,
Andrew Aitken, of Overton, Beith, who became a member of Dalry Burns Club in 1833, in the following
lines:

The suppers were held in this garret from 1826 to 1850. In 1851 they moved downstairs to a larger room
and a larger table. Here their table was placed from the front of the house to the back,
and this table measured 14 feet long by 3 feet wide. The Chairman had his back to a window at the
back of the house, while the Croupier had his back to a window at the Courthill Street side. In this room
the table was 4 feet from the fireplace, the fireplace being on the Chairman's left and the Croupier's
right. Here they held their suppers until the building was made into a two-storey building in 1875.