The History of the Scottish Woollen Industry - Part 4

4th instalment, The History of the Scottish Woollen Industry – by Nancy Dupuis, Volunteer Writer to the Communications Team, Scottish Society of Ottawa, March 2022

My thoughts from a book I read while visiting the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Almonte, Ontario one quiet winter afternoon; please keep in mind, this instalment and ones to follow are my interpretation only of what I have read.

Book - The Tweedmakers by Clifford Gulvin

Inside book cover of The Tweedmakers by Clifford Gulvin

Wondering always about the past of my hometown and area and the many remnants of actual old woollen mills, I went in search of some prior history one afternoon – why did these settlers quickly establish such mills in our local area, I wondered?

Deep into my reading that day, I learned the Scottish wool industry had never figured dramatically in the phenomenon known as the Industrial Revolution however it was part of a textile industry that did, being of great importance to the population of certain parts of Scotland. Scottish woollens would eventually achieve great international fame and distinction, in their own rightful place and time.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, in the years 1600-1700 Scots had depended heavily on the export of their primary product, raw wool being the most significant for most of their foreign revenue.

Scotland’s aim in simple terms, had been to emulate the English cloth industry which was perceived as the secret of that country’s wealth and greatness.

The time worn practice of heavily tarring sheep to prevent disease and the general ignorance of sheep husbandry were sufficient though to keep the quality of the home produced wool low enough, it was difficult to meet any standard of the manufactured product.

The 17th century Scottish woollen industry can be divided into two parts, 1) the coarse cloth trade and 2) fine cloth production.

The coarse cloth trade made use of local wool and native labour serving the needs of most of the population. Scottish fine cloth never became truly compatible in price or quality during this time.

After a family would card and spin its own wool, later sending it off to the local weaver, the raw material still was of poor quality, in part because of the sheep being daubed in tar (another reason for this being to protect them from the weather) rendered the fleece almost useless for manufacturing purposes.

The author speaks of only the coarsest cloth being fabricated from Scottish wool with the price of Galloway fine wool itself driven up by the practice of exporting it and then exposing it to international demand.

The efforts to establish an industry for the making of quality cloth in Scotland was seen to be a failure long before early 1700. Under the terms of the Union of 1707, Scotland became subject to the same commercial regulations as England; this included a ban on the export of wool in an endeavour to keep the price down from the manufactured and style driven foreign competition. Scottish growers were seriously affected by the Treaty. The thoughts of smuggling wool abroad now was hardly practical as a long-term solution.

In this book the wording indicates that eventually Scottish manufacturers were able to meet some of the demand from the New World due mainly to the expansion of Negro labour on the plantations as they now required cheap and light garments to clothe them in.

Scots however in the late 18th Century still lacked much sign of the quality cloth industry for which she subsequently became renowned.

We now turn to the formative Years (1770-1830) - real progress was prevented by a lack of skill, labour, wool, administrative laxity, and restricted markets.

During this time period (around 1798), the Hawick Carpet factory established a carpet and hosiery production line, consuming over half of the manufactured wool in the country. Hawick is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland being formerly established in the 16th century but was previously the site of historic settlement going back hundreds of years. Frame knitting had already been introduced in Hawick in 1771 for the manufacture of stockings and woollen underwear.

Changes to the structure of the local economy by 1792, carpets made from local Ayreshire wool grew increasingly important. Local production was now also concentrated in the fashion trade in decorated shawls and fancy linens. Notably at Kilmarnock, located in the heart of Ayreshire, better employment and investment opportunities were offering themselves in a rapidly expanding cotton industry.

Poor local wool was better for the carpet industry, thus utilizing Chevriot sheep (originating in the Chevriot Hills on the border of Scotland and England), Blackface sheep (originating actually south of the Scottish border) and the native Dunface (one of the Northern Europe short-tailed sheep group – giving rise to or contributing to existing breeds including the Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Hebridean and Boreray).

Eventually the crossing of a Blackface ewe with the Border Leicester did lead to an ideal type of wool for the tweed clothes produced later on in the 19th century.

Investment in power driven teasing, carding and spinning machines soon allowed for considerable increases in production. A hand spinner would take about a month to spin enough yarn to produce a cloth 30 yards long and 30 lbs. in weight - 36 spindles could now produce the same cloth in about 8 hours.

In 1829, the outlook for the Scottish industry looked bleak – fashion frowned on its products and frowned on its future. Yet the fashion cloud apparently had a silver lining – changes in social habits, now included a growing interest in tourism, which would be of lasting benefit to the Scottish woollen producer.

Between 1830 and 1880 – Scottish woollen had finally achieved an international reputation for design, textural colour, and textural quality.

“As twelve months pass, the suit looks well – with a new set of buttons and fresh pockets, the man feels proud of his economy and grateful to his tailor. Tweed is the changing international economy.”

The long-term prospect though for the industry was not bright. As the clouds thickened on the political horizon of Europe, the tweedmakers had fortunes to make it in a different market – service uniforms, production of long runs of standardized khaki cloth which was designed at a discount.

At this time, the working class in the woollen industry showed little inclination to form a long- term union organization. The manufacturer also showed a similar disregard for employee associations.

Despite fashion shifts favouring the product of their competitors, Scottish woollen products have retained their world reputation of superior quality cloths earned by their 19th century forebearers.

I hope you have enjoyed a bit of a look at the past; soon I will continue the story of the woollen industry as brought to this country by those first Scottish settlers. It has been my privilege to research this story and think back to the Appleton, Ontario “Collie” Woollen Mill as I knew it back in my days.

Christine GuayMarch 26, 2022