A respected Scottish poet known as the 'forgotten bard' is being remembered on the 250th anniversary month of his birth.

June 3 marked Robert Tannahill's birthday and the team behind the £45 million refurb of Paisley Museum have announced plans to celebrate his contribution to Scottish culture.

The museum will highlight Tannahill’s place as one of Scotland’s most important literary figures.

A new display will include the watch which was on Tannahill’s person the night he died and the actual loom he used in his cottage on Queen Street.

Tannahill is best known for his compositions The Braes of Balquhidder and The Bonnie Wood o' Craigielee - later adapted into the famous 'Waltzing Matilda'.

Tannahill's life ended tragically at 35 years old in 1810, with reports attributing his death to suicide by drowning in Candren Burn.

However new research is being conducted to revisit the cause of his death and casting doubt over the current version of events.

Archie Henderson, OneRen’s social history researcher, said: “At the height of his popularity, Tannahill was considered second only to Robert Burns as Scotland's most revered national bard.

“The international celebrity of Robert Burns casts a long shadow over Scotland's other renowned literary figures, but there is no doubt Robert Tannahill should continue to be spoken of in the same breath as the likes of Sir Walter Scott, or Tannahill's own friend, James Hogg.

"Tannahill was not only chief amongst the innumerable pantheon of Paisley poets of the 18th and 19th centuries, his work also had a global reach."