More then two hundred years ago industry, such as it was, was primitive; the spinning of flax or wool was done on a spinning wheel, cloth was woven by handloom -- a very slow and laborious process. It was, in the main, cottage industry. It is difficult to believe the changes that have taken place since then, but much of the change was brought about because of the needs of industry. There was no steam power, artificial lighting was by candle or oil lamp, electric power was unknown and there was neither motor nor railway transport.
All that the enterprising
businessman looked for in those days was a fast-flowing stream with clear
pure water in a country setting, and this he had in the parish of Neilston.
The River Levern was ideal for his purpose; it flowed from about 700 feet to
sea level over a distance of six and a half miles through a rural area. It
was good for power and processing, especially for the textile industry -
bleaching, calico printing and cotton spinning.
Bleaching was of course a natural process in the early days; literally there were bleachfields where the woven flax or cotton was laid out in the sun to bleach in a natural way. It had to be kept wet for a time, so much water was needed, and it was very much a seasonal job in those days.
Long before the advent of the bleaching and spinning industries, the Levern and other streams had been used by the grain miller to drive the water wheel which in turn drove the huge grinding stones. A typical example of this was at Fingalton Mill and, much nearer, at Wraes Mill. Another type of mill that was in operation in the early eighteenth century was the waulkmill. There was one such mill in Midgehole Glen near where Midgehole Farm once stood, just where the railway bridge crosses the Levern at the toot of the waterfalls. Incidentally the two falls in the glen were once knownl as Kilwinning's Linn and Dusty's Linn. Barr's Waulkmill was below the lower of the two falls, and on the other side of the pathway there was within living memory a row of houses almost opposite the Waulkmill. The mill was used to pummel the coarse cloth with wooden paddles, to shrink it and make it finer. It is said to have been used by the bonnet-makers of Stewarton. It is known to have been in existence as far back as 1740, and was still in use in 1830. Here is a quote from an old poem:
The Waulkmill unroofed in the glen Whose wheel paddles heedlessly on, The brushwood, the knowes a' covered wi' fern. All speak of the days that are gone ......
Speaking of Waulkmill, it's interesting to note that about 1790 the owner of Darnley Bleachfield in Waulkmill Glen above Barrhead, one Charles Tennant, was one of the pioneers in the use of chlorine in this country. Chlorine cut the process of bleaching from months to hours. Tennant moved to Glasgow where he built up an enormous business making bleach powder which revolutionised the bleaching industry. At a later date this firm amalgamated with another chemical firm from Manchester which in turn became part of the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
If we start upstream of the Midgehole Glen and the Links of Levern we come to the ruins of a bleachfield; this is at Waterside, in the vicinity of Ladywell. The firm was Chalmers and Co., who were known to be operating there at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and are said to have used the water of the well for processing and the water of the Levern for power. It has also been said that stones, sills, lintels, etc. from an old chapel believed to have been in this area were used in the building of the bleachworks.
Below the Links of the Levern, just at the top of the Midgehole Glen, there was Mall's Grain Mill; the upper storey of this mill was being used by the farmer of Neilstonside to house one of his workers until about the mid 1930s.
Lintmill Bleaching and Finishing Company had quite an extensive factory on the Levern near the junction of Midgehole Glen Road and the Uplawmoor Road. This is believed to have been originally a flax mill. It was in use until early in the twentieth century, when it was burned down; much of the ruin can still be seen. The bridge over the Levern at this point (carrying the Uplawmoor Road) is known as Brimstone Bridge.
Following the Levern for another quarter of a mile we come to High Crofthead Bleachfield and Print works. Again this was quite an extensive factory, employing about three hundred people. It ceased operation at the turn of the century, but there are still ruins of the building and dwellings nearby.
The next mill on the Levern is
Orr's Crofthead Mill, the first of six cotton mills which used the Levern
water. Crofthead Mill
was built in the 1790s (perhaps by Stewart, Orr and Co.) as a
cotton-spinning mill. At first the company had a problem with the supply of
water. Because of the number of factories using the water from Waterside to
Crofthead, the supply fell badly in summer. The problem was solved by the
formation of a consortium of the companies concerned, who agreed to meet the
cost of increasing the supply of water by building dams at the Long Loch,
the Harelaw and the Commore, and compensating the farmers affected for the
loss of land involved. A control point was built at Commore Dam. As all the
other firms went out of existence it eventually fell to Crofthead Mills to
effect care and maintenance of the dams.
By 1830 Orr's Crofthead Mill was the biggest producer of spun cotton of the six companies on the river and was continuing to expand. In 1859 Orr and Co. combined with R.F. and J. Alexander and Co., who operated the mill at Duke Street, Glasgow, on the Molendinar Burn. The Neilston mill became known as R.F. and J. Alexander and Co. Ltd of Neilston and Glasgow, and traded worldwide in finished cotton thread products.
Number 1 mill was burned down
in 1883, and from then on a series of new mills was built, the last being
the spool-turning department, completed just before the end of the century.
The spool-turning department became uneconomical and was closed in the early
1960s. This factory, quite a large five-storey building, was demolished in
1968.
In 1898 Alexander's joined the combine called the English Sewing Cotton Company Ltd; the Duke Street mills were closed in 1906 and the whole business was concentrated at Crofthead. This brought quite an influx of workers from Glasgow, who settled mainly in the new property on Holehouse Estate which had just recently been completed; many, however, continued to travel from Glasgow. At this time the firm was employing between 1250 and 1500 workers. The Orr family maintained an active interest in the business through Mr. Archibald Orr until 1914. The company now operates under the name of Tootal and Co. Ltd.
Orr's mill benefited greatly from having a railway station and goods yard nearby (Neilston Low Station was just across the main road). The fact that coal could be brought virtually to the doorstep was a major factor when steam power became the in thing. Alas, steam power is now a thing of the past and so too are the Low Station and goods yard. The mills now depend on electricity for light and power.
The mill strike of 1910, which
lasted for five weeks, the first and only one I know of concerning the
company, caused a bit of an upheaval in the village
at the time. Union
leaders were called from Glasgow, meetings were held at the mill gate, and
unfortunately there was some vandalism. Windows on the Holehouse Brae side
of the mill were smashed; consequently wire mesh screens had to be put on
them for protection -- some are still
in evidence on the lower windows. The strike was caused by what today would
be termed automation: the introduction of a self-acting piece of machinery
which caused an alteration in the rate of pay to the copwinders.
About half a mile further on is Broadlie
Mill, which was built about 1792 by a Mr Airston of Nether Kirkton as a
cotton mill; it was extended by Messrs Pollock, Gilmour and Co. and used for
cotton spinning. In 1854 it was a flax mill. Later it was occupied by Hugh
McConnel and Co. for the purpose of yarn dyeing, now it is in the hands of
Clyde Leather Co.
The mill in Gateside was originally built as a cotton mill in 1786. By the
beginning of the twentieth century it had ceased to be a cotton-spinning
enterprise and was taken over by Thomas Thomson and Co. as the Morocco
Works, processing fine leather, but latterly their main concern was in the
waterproofing industry; they have diversified quite a bit and are still in
business to some degree.
Gateside was a thriving community during the nineteenth century. There was a
calico print works, the Millfield, a sizeable factory situated at a bend of
the Levern at the beginning of Gateside; it ceased to operate at the end of
the century and was demolished; the site was used as a coup for a time. The
entrance gate pillars can still be seen.
Further along was Gateside Bleachfield,
later to become a laundry, which was burned down about forty years ago.
Then we come to Gateside Kid Works, which is still in existence producing
high-grade leather, but started life as a calico print works.
The earliest bleachfield of any size was started in 1765 on the estate of a
Mr Graham of Chappell House on the lower Levern who afterwards developed the
industrial area know as Grahamston.
Mention must be made of Kirktonfield, until
recently one of the mainstay employers of Neilston village. A Mr John
Cochran built a bleachfield at Glanderston, and operated there until 1820,
when he moved to the Kirkton Burn where there was an ample supply of water
coming from the Kirkton Dam and later (1845) from Snypes Dam. It is said he
used an early steam engine made by James Watt. This factory passed to James
McHaffie and Co., who in turn joined the Bleacher's Association. They had a
good business, bleaching and finishing all kinds of fine textiles,
especially shirting. At one time between 200 and 300 workers were employed.
I gather that in the early days when housing was scarce they had a Woman
House, with between 100 and 150 single women; it was a two-storey building,
with the dormitory upstairs and the dining room and living room downstairs;
it was probably an old factory building. This business closed down some
years ago, but the site is in use by Elcomatic.
Another type of industry that existed around this period was coal mining.
Coal was found at the south end of Loch Libo about 1780. The first attempt
to mine it ended in disaster in 1793. The mine was flooded, drowning seven
men, including the servant-man from the manse at Neilston. He was up for a
load of coal for the manse and decided to go down the mine for a look-see,
when the water poured in. It was reopened around 1830 as the Loch Coal Co.
It was much deeper and there were two seams, called Ell Coal and Craw Coal;
both seams were about four feet thick. It has long since been worked out and
little or nothing now remains of the workings.
There were other employers within the
parish, some with quite large factories that have come and gone in the past
200 years. The employers mentioned here are those who mainly concern the
village of Neilston, but it gives some idea of what was happening throughout
Scotland.
Extracts from The Neilston Story