Calder Glen Mill

This particular mill is best known to Lochwinnians of my generation as Whitton’s mill. Reviewing the history has thrown up some questions about when various developments occurred and by whom. The common theme is James Adam built this mill in 1814. That statement comes from a very authoritative source, Andro Crawfurd “Cairn of Lochwinyoch matters: Colleckit betwixt 1827 and 1837” on p349 of volume 6. “This mill was erected by Mr Adam in 1814.” He concludes by saying Adam sold it to Harvey.

This is re-affirmed in the New Statistical Account written in 1836 by the Reverent Dr Smith.

However it appears to be contradicted in the document between McDowall and his partners George Houston and Robert Burns when they setup the Copartnery of Houston Burns & Co on 29th Feb 1788 for the manufacture of cotton into yarn on the water of Calder and the water of Cart. McDowall put the Calderpark Mill which he had just built into this arrangement but he also contributed:-

"All and whole the lint and corn mills of Calder and Caldermill upon the Calder and Cloakburn with the whole Aquaducts and privileges and pertinents belonging thereto and the full and complete right to and use and privilege of the water……"

Clearly stating that a corn mill existed prior to 1814, however, James Adam did acquire a mill at this site in 1814 (see later).

In 1787 McDowall bought a Corn Mill situated on the river Calder and a Lint mill on the side of the Cloak Burn so that the Calderpark Cotton Mill (Old Mill) would have full power over the water. The 1785 Castle Semple estate map (see below) shows a Lint Mill on the site of Whitton’s Mill (albeit at right angles to the orientation of Whitton’s mill) together with another building across the road on the bank of the Calder. If this was the corn mill referred to above it would be so labelled just as the Lint mill is labelled. It is more likely to be the “Auld Miller’s” house belonging to John Kirkwood Snr. The location is the site of an extension that will be added to the Calder Glen Woollen mill in 1865. An article in 1877 states “The Mill House entirely swept away and its old site and garden ground now occupied by the large woollen factory of Mr Robert Williamson.”

There is further evidence that a mill existed on this site long before James Adam was even born (1771). In a description of the village written in 1862 about the village in 1750 the author describes how the Craw Road ran from its starting point on High Street to the Bridgend. Calder street did not exist and Craw Road was the only route from the Kirktoun to “the Corn Mill in Calder Glen, Lint Mill, etc”. A description similar to McDowall’s in 1788.

An article in 1878 throws a bit more confusion into the story of the Calder Glen Mills. This particular article discusses old properties in Lochwinnoch. The extract below is about a property in the Kirktoun but refers to a mill, “not Williamson’s modern mill but the old meal mill further up the glen”.

Williamson’s modern mill is on the bank of the Calder and can be seen in the 1895 map below. So, what/where is this “old Meal Mill further up the Glen”? which is presumably the mill McDowall purchased to control the water for his cotton mill.

On the low road along the banks of the Calder there is a swimming pool known as the Millar’s. I always thought it was called this because of the mill wheel that lay on the bank of the river at this point. The wheel is surrounded by a multitude of similar sized boulders – remnants of walls? Could the name be more significant in that this wheel is all that remains of an “old Meal Mill further up the Glen”. In dispositions the lade which ran from a point further upstream from the Millers to Whitton’s mill is described as six yards wide. The low road today is barely a single file walking path but back then, at six yards wide, would have been sufficient for horses and carts to bring oats along to a meal mill located at the Miller’s pool. The evidence is pointing to the Millar’s being the site of a mill and not just named after an abandoned mill wheel.

When the weir to feed the lade was built is not known. Did it feed this mysterious “old Meal Mill” in which case it would predate 1788 or was it constructed to feed James Adams new mill around 1813?

When the Black Dam was built is also unknown although its construction can be pinned down to sometime between 1808 and 1813. From the maps below the 1808 map on the left clearly shows the Black Dam has not been constructed. It was likely built in conjunction with the mill James Adam buys in 1813.

In historic documents regarding changes in ownership of the mill on the Cloakburn/Calder the Black Dam and the lade running alongside the low road always feature. They are clearly identified as being integral to that mill and along with the water rights were in the ownership of Castle Semple Estate. McDowall incorporated these assets into Houston Burns & Co but re-assigned the water rights to the cotton mill and expressly prevented the Calder Glen Mill from doing anything that might impinge on the supply of water to the cotton mill.

On 30^th Dec 1813 via an instrument of Sasine the executor of McDowall’s estate, Mr Selkrig, conveys to Mr Adam All and Whole the mill commonly known as New Mill of Glen alias Calder Glen mill with mill dams, lades, inlays together with the Multures, Knaveship and Bannochs of the land astricted to the mill and all obligations on those astricted to support and maintain all aspects of the mill. Also included in the land of Little Cloak the New Dam of Calder mill alias Black Lin (Black Dam) with right of access to control the flow from the dam and for cleaning and repairing. Although there were strict provisions on the Calder Glen mill that it could not divert water such that it impacted on the operation of the cotton mills. A dam which merely stored water could be seen by the mills as advantageous.

The phrase “New Mill of Glen” suggests it replaced the mill on the banks of the Calder referenced earlier in McDowalls agreement with Houston and Burns for the Calderpark Cotton Mill. The above instrument of Sasine suggests this old mill was built around 1719 via a disposition by John Brydon of Little Cloak to William Gillies. The new mill appears to have been built sometime between 1808 and 1813 on the site of the Lint mill mentioned previously, eventually becoming Whitton’s Mill. Who actually built this mill is unclear. Documents clearly state James Adam purchased the mill contrary to statements by Andro Crawford. At this time the McDowall family were in serious financial difficulty so would they have built this new mill at such a time? Any answer is pure speculation as I have found no concrete documentary evidence about who actually built this “New Mill of Glen”.

The mill was described as one of the most complete corn mills in the country. After the dried oats were put into the hopper, there was machinery for the whole process of shelling, winnowing, grinding, sifting and preparing for bags and market, manual labour only being necessary to supervise machinery.

So why did James Adam build/buy this mill. Corn mills were generally owned by the large estate they serviced. A large area was suckened to this mill. It included land of Barr, Garpel and Burnfoot, Bridgend, Linthills, Gillsyard, Little Cloak, Meikle Cloak, Longcroft and Muirshiell, Monybroch and Easter and Wester Barwaugh, Kaim and Tandlemuir. James Adam owned large parts of the land suckened to the mill.

In the feudal system that operated in Scotland at this time this was known as thirlage. This law ensured that all the grain the vassals produced could be measured and thus taxed. Vassals had to carry out repairs on the mill, maintain the lade and weir as well as convey new millstones to the site. Vassals were thus thirled to the local mill owned by the feudal superior and also had to pay dues for the use of the mill. 'Sucken' was the area over which a mill held thirlage over tenants and a 'suckener' was a tenant thirled to a particular mill. The millers were obliged to enforce the adherence of tenants to the thirlage laws, since the income of the miller was based on that portion of the tenants' grain that the miller was legally entitled to take for the act of milling the grain. The legal term 'astricted' was applied to a tenant who was thirled or bonded to a particular mill. Multure, was the name for the mill toll: a fixed proportion of the tenant's grain, paid to the miller by the suckener to grind the corn.

In an undated letter about water rights on the Calder it outlines a bit of jiggery pokery regarding commutation of the thirlage linked to the Calder Glen mill by Mr Adam. Documents state he secured the mill at a low cost because it came without water rights. He requested the Estate give him temporary rights to the water so he could negotiate a settlement with those sucken to the mill. Without water rights the farmers could dispute his claim for payment in exchange for giving up his right of thirlage.

In an instrument of Sasines dated 27th August 1817 James Adam sold various lands to John Harvey of Castle Semple, including the Calder Glen mill.

Handwritten notes suggest the Crawfords (John and William) may have taken on the top floor of the building as a wool mill in 1825. A letter from William Montgomery of Bridesmill dated 21st March 1827 confirm the Crawfords were operating the wool mill at that time and that Robert Houston was the millar. The lower floors remained a Corn mill. In 1855 John Grant was the millar. After this date the valuation roll suggests the Crawfords also took on the milling aspect of the building. Andro Crawford describes the mill operation thus:-

“William goes to collect the raw material. Ship it and disembark it at Port Glasgow. Humphrey Barbour, Alan Gilmour, Jamie Storie frequently bring it with their carts up. They sell their yarn to the Kilmarnock carpet manufactures. They sent their carts every fortnight thither. One of the partners accompany their carts. They employ 22 spinners, piecers, carders etc, for-by themselves.”

They had an office on Buchanan Street, William Crawford & Son, Woollen Manufacturers. The three maps show the development of Whitton’s site in 1856, 1895 and 1911. Whitton’s mill is on the right of the road. The buildings on the left of the Glen road are long since gone.

Bob Williamson was brought into the business around 1865 to provide capital for expansion. At this time Crawford build a large additional building which can be seen in the 1895 map on the left of the Glen Road.

William Crawfords son died aged 34 in 1880. Either just before this tragic event or just after it he sold his share of the business to Mr Robert Williamson. The 1875 Valuation Roll lists Robert Williamson as Proprietor / Occupier of the Calder Glen Wool Mill. He expanded the business sometime in late 1883 to include a laundry operation.

It was reported at the time that the wool mill aspect of his business would continue in parallel with this new endeavour. The lease was probably for that part of the Calder Glen Mill that was the corn mill. Whether corn was still being milled at this time is unknown. The laundry business therefore started in what became known as Whitton’s mill. In 1888 Williamson placed the following advert to sell off the wool spinning equipment and focus his business on laundry.

He collected laundry from far and wide as you can see from the 1899 advert below.

In 1896 he won a bronze medal at the Laundry and Sanitary Exhibition in London. Not satisfied with that placing he returned the following year and won two silver medals, highly commended in another category and missed a gold medal by one point. He also provided a carpet beating service proudly displayed in the advert below. A large part of his business was directed at trade customers, and with Ireland.

On 7th February 1903 the Calder Glen Mill was offered for let. There is no record that it ever was. There was a brief article on 6th May 1904 in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald about a possible new laundry by repairing a portion of the old laundry destroyed by fire. There is one other reference to a “destructive fire which took place in the laundry at Lochwinnoch belonging to Robert Williamson J.P.” on Saturday 3rd January 1903. This fire was probably in the new building erected in 1865 as an extension to the old combined wool and corn mill and can be seen in the 1895 map above. The 1911 map shows this building as disused, almost certainly because this is the one destroyed by fire. This would suggest the building offered for let was the original Corn/Woollen mill.

At its height this complex comprised two large buildings, one three storey’s high and the other four. It’s hard to imagine that now as you pass this location on a walk past the Falls. The letterhead sketch below gives some idea of what the complex looked like. Whitton’s mill is on the right. The small photograph below the letterhead sketch is Whitton’s mill in 1965 and is aligned with Whitton’s mill in the letterhead.

The last remnants of the small building behind the tree in the centre of the letterhead sketch and annexed to the larger building has recently (March 2024) collapsed into the Cloak burn (see below).

The following is a sequence of photographs around what remains on the large extension originally built by William Crawford around 1865 when he expanded the operations of the wool mill. Subsequently used by Robert Williamson as part of his laundry and ultimately destroyed by fire as were so many of the mills from that period. The remnants have all but been reclaimed by mother nature.

Robert Williamson is listed as the owner of the Steam Laundry at Calder Glen up till 1930. Although it was reported in 1883 that Williamson would continue his existing wool business; after 1905 Williamson’s listed interest changes from Wool and Corn mill to listed solely as a steam laundry. James Ferguson Whitton is listed as proprietor of the Wool Mill Calder Glen from 1925. This 5 year overlap suggests Whitton started his wool business in the top floor and confirms the 1888 sale of “worsted spinning machinery” was the equipment in the extension built in 1865. Over at least the previous 220 years when the building was in use it has oscillated between a corn mill, combined corn and wool mill, a laundry and finally back to a wool mill which it will remain till 1967 when its doors closed for good after the death of Mr Whitton in 1966 aged 83. Shortly thereafter the building was knocked down, the “cellar” used as a swimming pool and today the pool has been filled in and almost nothing remains of a complex that gave employment to so many.

This extract from the booklet by the SWRI written in 1965 describes Mr Whitton’s activities.

“He made high class tweeds and tropical blankets. Weaving was really the final process. The mill made its own yarns from the pure wool fleeces, direct from the sheep. Practically all Scotch wool was used and it had to be washed, dyed and dried without artificial heat, then carded and spun into yarn. There were many distinctive designs and colourings found in these articles with the trade mark ‘Cauder®'. This mill was carrying on an old tradition.”

The article “A Visit to Calder Glen Laundry” written in 1888 gives a detailed description of the day-to-day activities when the buildings were a working laundry.

There is one final character to weave into this mill complex – Alan Rothery. The Commercial Gazette (London) on 28th October 1886 placed the following bankruptcy advert:-

It was later reported on 11th December 1886 that Mr Rothery had absconded.

This means that Allan Rothery was operating the wool mill in the top floor of the Calder Glen mill when Williamson leased the lower floors to start his laundry business.

He would appear to be a bit of a rogue because in 1882 in Bradford he is reported as being involved in some shady business dealings. The above timings suggest Alan Rothery operated the original wool mill on the top floor of the Old Wool / Corn mill from sometime after 1882 till 1886. When Williamson in 1883 took over “a commodious building” for his new laundry that must have been only the lower floors of the Calder Glen mill comprising the corn mill and converted these to the initial phase of his new laundry operation. But what brought Alan Rothery to Lochwinnoch is unknown (friends, family or just a long way from Bradford) and what happened after he fled justice is lost in the mists of time.