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1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
PB THE CAIRN
Lochwinnoch through the Ages
Lochwinnoch Industries
by
Dr Brian Smith
The power behind Lochwinnoch's industrial growth like so many towns during the industrial revolution was its river, in this case the Calder. The river is now a shadow of its former self primarily due to water being diverted to the Kaim reservoir. When I was growing up in the village the river supported fine sized trout and many other marine animals.
So it is appropriate to start this section with some of the photographic record of the infrastructure used to harness the power of the Calder. The pairs of photographs below show the main structures used to harness the Calder. Most pairs comprise photographs of the original structure and its present day condition. When you click on a photograph a larger version will appear together with further details.
By clicking on the links (underlined words) a map will appear showing the location of these structures. Each map is from 1856
The third is the Wooden Dam Breast which fed water to the Calderhaugh Bleachfields.
The map shows a sluice adjacent
to the mill which diverted water
into a lade which ran from here
to Whittons Mill. It is still
visible as a ditch that runs
along the right hand side of the
path that follows the course of
the river up the glen.
The final pair is of the Barytes
processing plant located just
above the gate which barrs
entry to the Muirshiel mine
road.
The Garple and Cloak Burn,
tributaries to the Calder, also
powered various types of mill.
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