Manufacturing History

Renfrewshire's Manufacturing History

The shape and character of Renfrewshire's industry today is the result of a fascinating industrial heritage that placed the region on the global trading map in the 18th Century.

A huge demand arose in the 18th Century by American colonists for "manufactured goods" - such as saddles, stocking, shoes, kitchenware and - particularly - cloth and thread.

The Paisley Weavers were very unusual men, being astute, political, radical and strong public speakers who loved gathering at the close-mouth of public houses to discuss their beliefs. They were guardians of the Church, reformers of the state, proud patrons of learning and excellent citizens. Communities of weavers formed as early as the 18th Century, when hopeful cloth manufacturers settled in newly opened areas.

New Street opened in 1733-38 and Shuttle Street, a row of weaver's cottages, was also built. Other weaver communities formed in Orchard Street, Sneddon, the Croft, Maxwellton, George Street, Canal Street, Causeyside and Neilston Road.

Linen
As cotton cloth was only available as an exotic Indian luxury, linen was in high demand. The people of Renfrewshire would import linen from the Baltic countries and bleach it. Paisley bleachwork owners became highly successful trading tobacco and then sugar for the linen. By mid 18th Century Paisley capital went into mineral workings, cotton mills and bleachfields. Paisley was booming and the town expanded. In around 1730 the council built a Burgh Church, now the Paisley Arts Centre.

Thread
Production of thread started in Paisley in the 18th Century. The first cotton thread factory was opened by James Clarke at Seedhill in 1812, followed by the competing Coats' factory in Ferguslie in 1826. A year later there were a dozen thread manufacturers, some with steam-powered factories. Eventually Coats and Clarke took over all opposition and merged in 1896 to form J & P Coats. These large industrial families were fundamental to Paisley's growth.

J & P Coats is now Coats Viyella, a multi-national group in the textile industry.

First Telephone Line
Renfrewshire is synonymous with enterprise. The first private telephone line in Europe ran between the home of James Reid, in Renfrew Road, to Sandyford, the home of A.C. Holms in 1876. On 25 November 1913, Paisley became the first town in Scotland, and the third in Britain to have an automatic telephone exchange.

Marmalade
In the 19th Century a grocer's wife discovered a recipe to use oranges that were too bitter for jam, and so Robertson's Golden Shred Marmalade was created. It was manufactured in Paisley from 1860's to 1974.

Brown & Polson
William Brown and John Polson were manufacturers of starch for the shawl industry, and in 1850 they discovered how to produce edible starch. Brown and Polson's Patent Corn Flour was sold throughout the world. Knorr powdered soups were also manufacturered in Paisley by CPC Ltd at the Brown and Polson works until 1993.

Legal First
In 1928 a lady customer who had purchased ginger beer from a cafe in Wellmeadow found a snail in the bottle. She sued the manufacturer for negligence, and the modern laws of negligence are now based on this.

Armitage Shanks
World leaders in the production of drains and sanitary ware, Armitage Shanks was created in 1875 when a local plumber, John Shanks, started production in Barrhead. The firm's customers included the 13th Dalai Lama who installed a Shanks bathroom in his summer palace in Lhasa, Tibet in the 1930's.

For more on Paisley's industrial history, visit http://www.paisley.org.uk.