Calderhaugh Mill - The New Mill - The Silk Mill

Calderhaugh Mill was constructed in 1789 by Messrs Johnston, Pollock Fultons, Buchanan & Co later to become Fultons & Buchanan. These gentlemen were all silk manufacturers from Paisley. Humphrey Fulton is credited with introducing silk gauze manufacture to Paisley around 1760. He operated between 400-600 looms and employed anywhere between 1000-1500 staff. Herbert Buchanan is said to have been the person who introduced the flying shuttle to Scotland.

This new mill was built near the Lochwinnoch bridge and consisted of five storeys with garrets, and was lit by 360 windows and 60 skylights. The building itself was originally 164ft long by 33ftwide and 35ft high. The water wheel was 22ft in diameter and 10ft broad. It contained 25224 spindles, which processed 12,000 lbs. of cotton every fortnight. The yarn varied in size, from No. 36 to 84, averaging 60. It initially employed 240 workers, who received about £260 of wages a fortnight but when fully operational could employ 600 people. It was fed with water via a lade coming from the Calderpark Mill supplemented by an additional weir feeding water into this lade between the two mills. The third William McDowall feud the land for the mill and a bleachfield on 11th January 1791. In old money the ground feud extended to 10 acres 2 roods 28 falls 6 ells which was basically the park known as Sandy Lands. The feu also included  2 roods 16 falls on the south side of Main Street which is currently occupied by Calder House. William Fulton one of the Partners was the first occupant of the house on this site. He died there in 1798. This park stretched from behind the mill to the Calder behind McConnell Road. A row of houses was built at the far end of this park close to the banks of the Calder called the OldField. From 1793 the factory used the land behind the mill to create their own bleachfields. They were also given the right to cut a tail lade from the mill to the Loch through land possessed by John Stevenson and Robert Orr. The feu also contained an undertaking never to sell land above the mill in any way that could impact the water supply.

This mill and Calderpark Mill built in 1788 led to a desperate need for more accommodation. Between 1788 to 1795 fifty-three new houses were built and ground was feued for many more. This led to the formation of the new town centred on the cross. The 1808 map by Richardson shows the formation of the new town and the plain coloured sections behind the houses shows the extend of the land that has been feud by that time. 

Over time the members of the old original firm retired by degree or died out. Mr. Pollok, in the early days, appeared now and then at the inspection of the works with Mr. Herbert Buchanan and his kinsman Mr. William Fulton of Park. He was somewhat corpulent in person, and still used hair powder. Herbert Buchanan had three sons and several daughters. George, who succeeded his father, was the eldest. John, of Glenlora, the second; and Herbert, who attended to the business of the firm, after coming of age, in Glasgow. Their mother was Anne Fulton, daughter of Robert Fulton and sister of Robert Fulton, late Lieutenant - Colonel of the 79th Regiment. She died in the year 1817. The young men of the two families about that time (1817) stepped into the places of the senior partners. Mr. George Buchanan and his brother John were introduced to the works at Lochwinnoch soon after joining the firm.  John Buchanan was considered the active partner of the firm, and from the day that he undertook the charge, did not cease to take a very lively and intelligent, interest in the concern at Calderhaugh until it passed out of the hands of Messrs, Fultons, Buchanan & Company, around 1866.

He saw the factory at Lochwinnoch prosper and extend during a considerable period. A large addition was built to the east end of the original mill in 1823. At this time a steam engine was added to meet the extra power requirements.

The large section of houses called “Kildale” (circled in map above) located above the Mill Brae on Calder Street were erected for the accommodation of the workpeople; and in 1835 another large addition was added to the west end of the factory, so that, out of Glasgow, perhaps, there was not a larger cotton mill at that time in the country. This second extension was one story lower than the rest of the building (see sketch below).

In the year 1827, an evening school for the benefit of the young factory workers who were too far from the schools in the village to give anything like regular attendance, was established at the Oldfield houses (see map above) which were close to the works. Mr. Buchanan fostered this school with great care. It served about from twenty to thirty families, and prospered. Eventually, Mr. Buchanan started a day-school, a large room was provided by the company convenient to the factory. The Factory Act was coming into force about that time, 1830, and the young folks of the factory, were categorised as halftimers. John Buchanan set himself with great earnestness and energy to make this school a success. The company, very much to their honour, provided an excellent schoolroom, which in the course of a few years had to be extended twice. The company gave a salary of £36 a year to the teacher, requiring him to teach sixty pupils through the day; thirty under twelve years of age, who had to leave the mill at certain hours as half-timers; and another sixty from the works; who met at eight o’clock in the evening. The teacher was permitted to take more than the sixty-day pupils, exacting from these additional scholars the ordinary rate of wages. The school was conducted on the system of “The Edinburgh Sessional School,” and the books used were “Wood’s Sessional School Series”. This school for a number of years was the largest in the parish. Mr. Buchanan also granted the use of the schoolroom for the accommodation of a Mission-Station on Sabbaths. That Mission, under the late Dr. Smith and a large committee, flourished for a number of years.

The good times were not to last forever. This article dated Saturday 30th April 1859 highlights the growing problems in the textile industry.

“At present trade in Lochwinnoch is much brisker than it has been for some time past. The demand for certain fabrics is so great that such activity as now exists among the hand loom weavers has not been experienced for a long period. The Cotton Mill, the Woollen Mill, and the Bleachfield, have large orders on hand to execute, and the prospects of all concerned are highly encouraging. The town has recovered from the severe stroke indicted by the failure of the Western Bank and the stoppage of the Calderpark Cotton Mill. It is to be hoped that the gleam of reviving prosperity may be more than transient, and that the gloom which hung so long over this locality may be permanently removed.”

This would not be the case and the mill was put up for sale in June 1865 for an upset price of £7000. The factors leading to this are outlined in another article - Textile Manufacture in Lochwinnoch. The property now included part of Plot 16 North Kildale Park at 2 acres 1 rood 36 falls plus 2 steadings and adjoining land of 1 rood 24 falls plus the land on the south side of Main street which now had Calder House built upon it. The montage below outlines in red the mill property in the sketch which accompanied the sale disposition (bottom left) transposed onto Richardson's 1808 map (right) and the 1785 Estate map (top left).

It was purchased by the Crawford Brothers on 5th June 1866. They owned a large mill 2 miles outside Beith at Barrmill on the road to Dunlop. They took out a £10000 loan from the Commercial Bank of Scotland in 1865. The mill had been advertised in 1865 but the sale was withdrawn so whether this loan was to finance this purchase is a matter of conjecture. It should be remembered they purchased the Calderpark mill September 1864 for £3646 so they probably needed to refinance the business.

Things become quite murky after this because there is a missive of sale of the Calderhaugh Mill between the Crawford Brothers and Malcolm Macfarlane of Greenock in 1867. Why they decided to sell it immediately after purchasing it is unknown. The terms of the sale provide for Crawford Brothers to reclaim the mill if the payment schedule is not met and sell it via public sale to recover the money owed. The mill was advertised for sale on 20th May 1869.

Presumably, Malcolm Macfarlane failed to make some payment(s) and the Crawford Brothers exercised their right under the terms of the sale to re-advertise the mill. These were very difficult times in the Cotton industry and perhaps Macfarlane overstretched himself financially. The upset price was the same they paid John Buchanan, £7000, but there were no takers. It was re-scheduled for 7th July 1869 with a reserve price. One bid was received from James Faulds for £5600. The reserve price was revealed at £5750 which he immediately matched. He then revealed he was acting on behalf of Allan Campbell Crawford of Beith - a brother to the sellers Hugh and James! He leased the mill for three years to his brothers.

In 1870 they challenged the rateable valuation of the mill which had been set at £300. The mill had been valued at £400 to £500 as a working mill. They argued it should be £150 as this was the rent they were paying to their brother combined with the fact the mill was now primarily a store with most of the cotton machinery sold off. It was revalued at £150. At this point in time they were also proprietors of the Calderpark Mill.

In 1872 cotton thread production ceased and the eastern part of the building became a flax mill. The western part was retained as a store for the flax mill. The production of linen was the core produce of the Crawford Brothers so given that and the decline in the profitability of the Cotton trade the switch to linen is not surprising. The mill employed about 300 people. Clearly all was not well with the business because the following advert appeared in The Hour on Saturday 26th December 1874:-

Whether the purchase by Alan Crawford was some sort of con we will never know. Somehow the mill again came under the ownership of Hugh and James.

Fire was an ever-present risk in these building. In 1822 there was an incident when snuffing out a candle. It was dropped into a quantity of cotton which caught fire. It rapidly spread to adjoining machinery and spread through a communication shaft to the floor above. Despite its rapid spread the prompt and strenuous efforts of the employees brought it under control and the building was saved.

On Thursday 16th September 1875 a more serious incident occurred. About five o’clock, a.m., the inside and roof of the boiler-house of the new mill took fire. The engineman, John Glen, quickly raised the alarm, and a number of the workmen, who live near at hand, turned out, and with the aid of one of Dick’s fire-engines speedily put the fire out; not, however, until the roof had fallen in. Fortunately, when first observed the steam had been let off and the fires raked out. We understand that it was not insured, the damage falling wholly upon the owners Messrs Crawford Brothers.

On Sunday 21st April 1878 the eastern part of the building was totally destroyed by fire and was not re-built. The ruin of the gable end of this eastern section can be seen standing in the photograph below. The western part remained effectively unoccupied until 1890. The following account of this incident was given in the local press.

About one o’clock on Sabbath morning, the 21st instant, flames were noticed issuing from the garret of the mill, which, in the eastern part, is five storeys in height, the newest end being a storey less, and the alarm being quickly given, measures were at once actively taken to avert, if possible, the dire calamity. But nothing, it appears, could be done to stop the flames from spreading, and by the time that any help could be obtained from the fire engine belonging to the Messrs. Knox, thread manufacturers at Kilbirnie, four miles distant, the raging element had taken possession of three of the upmost flats. It was about four o’clock a.m. when the Kilbirnie engine arrived, and the efforts of the firemen were at once directed to save what used to be called the “new end,” or the western portion of the building. In this they happily succeeded, but the other portions, the old original mill, and the eastern part, which had been added in 1823, were burned to the ground. The large and goodly looking fabric was originally a cotton mill, and gave, for many years, steady and remunerative employment to many well-to-do families in the village.

If you return to the sketch of the mill above you will see it was reduced to about a quarter of its size. The part left standing was the left-hand side of the building, one storey lower than the rest, which was the extension added in 1835. Below is a photograph taken from the steeple of the Parish Church sometime after the fire, probably around 1897, the date of another photograph taken from the same location. The right-hand gable of the new east wing is still standing but separate from the rest of the structure.

A Minute of Agreement is entered into between Hugh Crawford and George Brown Oliver on 27th November 1889. The mill is leased for a term of seven and a half years from Martimas (11th November) 1889. Under the terms of the lease Crawford is to keep the building wind and water tight. Oliver is allowed to make certain aesthetic alterations to the building and others to enable his equipment to be installed. Windows on the ground floor could be lengthened downwards and those on the third and forth heightened. The ground floor was to be lowered 2 ft and doors widened to enable machinery into the building. At the termination of the lease Oliver is entitled to remove the engine, boiler and shafting he installed causing as little damage to the building as possible. Rent was set at £90 and the repairs were to be paid upfront by Crawford and Oliver's share recovered via the rent.

On Monday 28th April 1890 Calderhaugh Mill began a new lease of life as a silk mill. Eighty four looms were installed and over 100 employees required. These were mostly women but due to the shortage of available staff only six of the looms were operational initially. The factory was driven by a 20 horse power steam engine and Mr G B Oliver undertook to increase production as soon as trade and staff become available. The silk was brought to the mill in its thrown or spun form and then turned out in the form of finished goods, mostly light silk fabrics of figured patterns.

The above agreement was extended for a further 10 years on 24the January 1896. In the new lease rent became £100 per annum. Crawford was required to repair a gable end of the building before Whitsunday 1896. Oliver could lift the attic floor at his expense but had to keep the joist and replace them at the end of the tenancy. He could install electric lighting and remove it at the end of the tenancy.

An Inventory and Valuation of the whole plant was carried out in 1906 by Smith & Christie.

Caldwell Young whose head office was 170 Buchanan Street Glasgow took over the mill on 2nd April 1915 under the terms of a 15 year lease. Rent was set at £150 per annum paid half yearly with an option to terminate at Whitsunday 1918, 1920, 2024 on giving six months notice. They also had an option to purchase at Whitsunday on giving three months notice at a price of £3000. In the end the partners, Alexander Renfrew Young and William Henry Gordon Caldwell Directors of Caldwell Young, exercised the option to purchase the mill.

Before the Second World War the company wove silk for ladies dresses and gents shirts, pyjamas and ties. During the war silk was in short supply and

the mill was taken over by the Royal Air Force to produce parachute cloth. From the end of the war they produced the new rayon and nylon fabrics. By

the early 1950s silk gradually became available again and the company went back to the exclusive production of woven silk cloth. In 1955 an attempt to diversify was made using wool to produce scarves and mohair stoles. This was designed to be quickly produced and to boost outlets, but was never really successful as the looms were not suitable for the work and the trade was seasonal which created all the associated problems of carrying stocks and delayed revenues. Nevertheless mohair was exported from Lochwinnoch all over the world.

In the early 1970s the business was taken over by the well known shirt making firm of Turnbull and Asser whose retail outlet in Jermyn Street is one of London's most exclusive shops. Caldwell and Youngs fast boiling spun crepe silk with its lively finish was ideal for the parent company's business. Despite the cash injections of the parent company the Lochwinnoch factory could not compete with cheaper foreign products and the high cost of the silk dying process. It finally closed its doors for good in 1985 after 196 years of operation.

But that is not the end of this piece of Lochwinnoch history. It has been given a new life as a block of residential flats.