earlier,shewasat thecentreof oneof thetown’s
moresinisterepisodes– theBargarranwitch
trialsof 1697.Shaw,aged11,claimstohavebeen
bewitchedbyherservant,KatherineCampbell,
andgaveevidenceat thetrialsthatresultedin
eightpeoplebeingaccusedof witchcraft.It’san
intriguingstoryandevenmoreremarkablethat
Christianwentontobecomesucha leadingfigure
incommerce;assuch,shehasearneda placein
Paisley’shistory,notonlyinlocalmythology, but
initsevolutionasa textile town.
Aftera tripto
Hollandinher30s,
shewassoimpressed
bytheskillsof the
Dutchthread-
makersthat,onher
returntoScotland,
sherecreatedtheir
techniqueforspinningfinelinenthreadand
establishedBargarranThreadCompany.Inthe
1730sshemovedtoEdinburghtositontheBoard
of TradeandManufacturingandbecamethe
firstmistressof theEdinburghSpinningSchool.
Althoughherbusinessdissipatedafterhermoveto
Edinburgh,hertechniquehadbeenreplicatedby
otherlocalbusinesses,andin 1735 WilliamCarlile
openeda threadfactoryat BankheadMill,Paisley.
It’snowthatthestoriesof theClarksandCoats
familiesbecomeinextricablywovenintothe
historyof Paisley.TheCoatsfamilyaredescended
frommanygenerationsof Paisleyweavers,and
theClarksstartedoutasWeaver’sFurnisherand
HeddleTwineManufacturer.Whentheimportof
silkwasimpactedbyNapoleon’sBerlinDecree,
brothers James and Patrick Clark developed a fine
QWhentheJapanesebeganmakingneedles,theynameda
suburbof Tokyo‘Redditch’sothattheycould legitimately
print‘MadeinRedditch’onthepackets.
QAnoverseasmanufacturerof hypodermicneedles
sentonetoRedditchclaimingthatit wasthesmallestin
theworld.It wassentbackto the manufactures with a
Redditchneedleinsideit!
QDuringWorldWarII,MillworkersinPaisleyraised
enoughfundstobuya Spitfirewhichwasgiftedtothe
nation.Theplanewas,of course,namedPaisley.
QThereis a 150-milestretchof landonthecoastof the
AntarcticnamedaftertheCoatsfamily.‘CoatsLand’was
discoveredbytheScottishNationalArcticExpedition
(1902-1904),madepossiblewithfundingfromMajor
AndrewCoatsandhisyoungerbrotherJamesCoatsjunior.
QTheClarksof Paisleycreatedthefirstwoodenthread
reelsfordomesticsewingmachineusein1820.Thereels
weremadeof birchand,whenpurchased,youlefta deposit
so that the reel could be returned and refilled.FINER
POINTS...
cottonyarnthatcouldbeusedasanalternative
tosilk,andtheyformedJ & J Clark& Coin1819.
In1830,JamesandPeterCoatsformedJ & P
Coats,basedat FerguslieMills.Fiercerivalsfor
morethan 60 years,theyfinallyamalgamatedin
1896.BrainCoats,of theCoatsfamily,hasvery
generouslyshareda photofromthe family archive
takenin 1869 (seepage48).
ThischapterinPaisley’shistoryasa thriving
manufacturingtownis a joytoexplorethrough
oral histories, the many archivedmaterialsat
theThread
MillMuseum
andotherlocal
archives.The
Coats/Clark
legacyis as
mucha part
of thephysical
landscapeaswellastheawesomeredbrickAnchor
MillandAbbeyMillbuildings(wherethemuseum
is based)loomtallasyouenterthetown.
Thisshortfeaturecanonlyskimthesurface
of thehistoryof theneedleandthread.Fora
moreimmersiveexperienceI recommendvisiting
RedditchandPaisleywhereyoucanlookover
theshoulderof a ‘pointer’crouchedoverhis
grindstoneorwatchfootageof themillmachines
inproductionat AnchorMill.Needlesstosay,
aftervisiting,I’msurethenexttimeyouthread
yourneedle,it willgiveyoupauseforthoughtand
a deeperappreciationof thesetwofascinating
chapters in the UK’s rich textile history.http://www.paisleythreadmill.co.uk
http://www.forgemill.org.ukPlanning
yourvisit
ForgeMillNeedle
Museumcloses
overthewinterbut
reopensin January.
In 2020,theywillbe
holdinganexhibition
inspiredbyCoventry
Cathedralfrom
theMidlandsCQ
Groupaswellasan
exhibitioncalled
‘FabricofLife’
fromtheThreaded
TogetherQuilters.
TextileArtists
SandraMeechand
JamieFoxbothhave
soloexhibitions in
2020.
PaisleyMillThread
Museumis open
fromMonday-
Saturday,however
volunteersareonly
atthemuseum
onWednesdays
andSaturdays–
theyprovidean
extradimension
whenexploring
thedisplaysthat
is invaluable.My
thankstovolunteers
whoguidedme
throughthearchive
andsharedtheir
experiencesof
delvingintoPaisley’s
thread history.“It’s now that the storiesof
the Clarks and Coats families
become inextricably woven into
the history of Paisley”Farleft,Examplesofcrochetcotton,embroiderycottonand
patterns,andcrochetedsamplesmadebyworkersofFerguslie
Millsoverthepast 100 years;Above,Hankwindingmachines
are on display at the Paisley Thread Mill Museum