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Chapter 11 Commerce and Industry
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The first industry in Stewarton was, of course, the making of woollen bonnets. It started as a cottage industry before transferring to factories during the industrial revolution, in Stewarton's cage early in the 19th century. The factories existed in various parts of the town but most of the larger ones were situated near the River Annick at Darlington, Bridgend, and Holm Street. All through the years of bonnetmaking, followed by the production of general knitwear, business has fluctuated. Trade was either flat, brisk, slack, booming, poor, or non-existent and while some larger custom-built factories and mills were usually able to survive the crises, small firms fell by the proverbial wayside and went out of business. According to Slater's guide to Stewarton published in 1852, there were thirty-two bonnet manufacturers producing headgear of all kinds including tartan and military. By the 1860s the number had been reduced to ten and this oscillating trend continued into this century and still exists to this day. Different situations affected trade. Last century the American Civil War, strange as it may seem, made its impact in far-off Stewarton and the bonnet trade suffered a recession. Conversely, during both world wars this century local firms flourished and order books were full. The worst depression took place in 1886. A long and severe winter accompanied by a disastrous trade situation resulted in many workers being laid off. There was so much distress and poverty locally that fund-raising charity concerts were organised to assist in relieving the situtation, In the early 1930s, there were twenty-five knitwear firms. Today in 1988, only two or three of these are still in business and all have been "taken over" and are under new ownership. One is R. Mackie & Co., the only firm in Stewarton still making bonnets, now incorporated into Thomas Mackie & Sons, Spinners & Dyers. Gone are the almost legendary names from the past - Nairn's, Russell's, John Sim's, Haig's, Ling's, Neil's, Cunningham's, Robert Sim's, Currie's, MacGowan's Hall's - firms which employed hundreds of local and outside workers, the majority female but also male mechanics and engineers. The aforementioned Thomas Mackie & Sons of Bridgend Mills is one of the oldest firms in the town and was founded in 1823. It produces yarn for the carpet industry 'including spinning and dyeing and is still going strong employing a large number of both men and women. Other industries in the past included the manufacture of clock works which were in great demand and were exported to Europe and America. William Forrest's Lace and Hosiery Work in Rigg Street was a thriving concern for many years and McKenzie & Co., Wholesale Cabinet Manufacturers, made furniture in the large factory off Standalane. The spindle works, known locally as "the spin'le mull," was founded by Charles Skeoch and the factory existed at Goosehill near High Street from the middle of the last century until 1930s.
Messrs Boyd & Forrest were renowned builders and railway contractors who were responsible for the erection of Stewarton Public School, Ayr Station and Hotel, and the King's Theatre, Kilmarnock. They constructed many railway lines including the loop between Barleith via Riccarton to Gatehead and the branch line from Newmilns to Darvel.
The Stewarton Gaslight Company was founded in 1832 and the local "gas works" were just off Holm Street where the gas tanks were a once-familiar, if unsightly, landmark. Gas was rationed at one time and in 1851/52 only four shillings worth per quarter was allowed to be burned before supplies were cut off. Stewarton gas works closed in the 1960s and since then gas has been supplied from Kilmarnock. Going back to the last century Stewarton had a ginger-beer manufacturer, two tin-smiths in High Street and a nailmaker at Standalane.
During World War II, two engineering films set up business in Stewarton - Wilson & Wyllie at Rigg Street and Carrick Precision Tools in the old cabinet works. They manufactured special machine tools for industry, thereby helping the war effort and answering Winston Churchill's call: "Give us the tools and we'll finish the job!" The former firm is still in business today. The hours worked in Stewarton factories were gradually reduced over a period of a hundred years. In 1869 the working day was from 7 am. to 7 p.m. with two meal breaks, Monday through Friday, and work ceased at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. In the 1910s, the day sometimes started at 6 a.m. with a breakfast break at 9.30 a.m. lunch at I p.m. and ending at 6 p.m. By the Thirties and Forties it was 8 am. to 5.45 p.m. with a half day on Saturdays. The larger factories, like Mackie's and Cunningham's (locally known as "Kinnycum's") blew horns at starting and stopping times and some set their clocks by them. Earlier this century although the official school-leaving age was 14, some scholars were given exemption for various reasons to leave at 12 or 13, usually because a mother was very ill or had died. At 14 girls were mainly employed in the local "hosiery works" where they learned to knit on a "flat machine," and other jobs included overlocking, winding, sewing and pressing. A person who was trained to work on a tartan-making machine had a particularly skilled job as it involved a complicated weaving process as the tartans had to be authentic. In factories in which bonnets were made, especially military-style headgear like glengarries, balmorals and Stewarton bonnets, other skiUls were required in what was and still is known as "the black work" section in R. Mackie's. Not all the work was done in the factories and some women crocheted large, navy-blue bonnets in their homes which were then taken to the factory to be "mulled" into felt. Other home work included the making of tassels, toories, and fringes for golf garters, sewing on buttons and labels, some of which bore famous brand names. At the beginning of this century it was quite usual for male workers to have a weaving machine installed in their homes. Although most of the preceding information is written in the past tense, many of the processes are still in use today, albeit on modern machinery. All the larger factories and mills had high chimneys to convey the smoke from the coal-fired furnaces away from the built-up areas. The tallest was Mackie's lum at Bridgend Mills which still stands as a local landmark, although it was reduced in height many years ago. In 1988 a typical working week in one Stewarton knitwear factory is from 8 am. until 4.45 p.m., Monday to Thursday with a 2 p.m. finish on Friday, a total of 39Vi hours. Paid overtime is worked as required and some machine operators work on continental shifts.
Stewarton had a Post Office in Avenue Square (then part of Avenue Street) in 1850 when John Kennedy was Post Master. A decade later the Post Master was John Picken. Early this century the Post Office was situated at 28 Lainshaw Street before moving to the present premises at High Street. Long-serving Post Masters include Miss Ferguson (Post Mistress). James McCallum, and Rhodes Morion. Today Harvey Morton is following in his father's footsteps in this position. There has been a long succession of well known postmen in the town, too numerous to list.
Until the railway came to Stewarton it was the custom to use horse-drawn vehicles for travel including cabs and larger carriages known as brakes. All the local "lairds of the big hooses" owned their own private cabs and one local man, Gabriel Cochrane, had a cab-hire service. The brakes were used in summer to escort workers from local factories or children on summer trips to their destinations, sometimes only as far as a field near the town.
Cunninghamhead Station was the nearest connection for travel to Glasgow until a line was constructed from Glasgow to Stewarton via Barrhead. The viaduct was opened in 1873 and this gave Stewarton travellers direct line to both Glasgow and Kilmamock as well as being a vital link for local industry.
When motor transport was invented it took a relatively long time before it affected Stewarton and it has been said that Duncan McKinnon of the Railway Hotel owned the first motor car in the town.
The following is a list of Stewarton manufacturers in 1988.
KNITWEAR C & G Knitwear Ltd., High Street. Dino Fashions Ltd., Bridgend. Jenna-D Ltd.. Lainshaw Street. R. Mackie & Co., Bridgend. D. MacRae & Son Ltd. Avenue Street. Nethy Products, Dunlop Street. Newtown Knitwear Ltd., Off Dean Street. Robert Strang, High Street. Top Scotch Knitwear Ltd., Wylie Place. Trax Knitwear. Dunlop Street. Stewarton Textiles Ltd., Lainshaw Street. Zig Zag Knitwear Ltd., Wylie Place. Ferguson Knitwear Ltd., Old Kilmamock Road.
ENGINEERS B & A Metal Fabrications, Bridgend. Jigs & Fixtures, Rigg Street. Wilson & Wylie, Rigg Street. Power Precision Ltd., Standalane, McKenzie Roberts, Engineers.
FOOD Lainshaw Farm Eggs, David Dale Avenue. Riverside Rolls Ltd., Ravenscraig Road. W.Wales, High Street. W. Allan & Son, High Street.
SPINNERS & DYERS T. Mackie & Sons, Bridgend.
In the commercial field Stewarton used to be a typical small Scottish town with shops mainly up and down the main streets. In the 1930s there were approximately fifty shops, almost all one-owner or family businesses - grocers, bakers, butchers, dairymen, shoemakers, hairdressers, drapers, chip shops, etc. The biggest shop in town was a branch of the Kilmarnock Equitable Co-operative Society, known locally as "the Co." It was situated in Main Street on the same site as the present Co-op Supermarket and it employed both men and women grocers. The benefit of being a member of the Society and shopping there was the dividend or "divvy" paid out at the end of the year. The banter between the housewives and the counter assistants was another feature of this store. Among the retailers of yesteryear were "the wee shoaps" which were usually part of a dwelling-house. They sold everything from a packet of hair pins to a plate of hot peas, paraffin to pastry, as well as sweets, cigarettes, and you-name-it they sold-it! One such shop was Mary Taillson's (later Bina's) in Lainshaw Street, of fond memory to me as I lived next door and was a regular customer. Nobody remembers when the first fish and chip shop was opened but it must have been early this century. In bygone days there were four or five - Wullie Barclay's and "The Tallies" (Togneri, Cortessi or Pioli) in Lainshaw Street; Meg Donaldson's Horseshoe Cafe in Brown Street; Jean Yuille's or Mrs Wilson's in High Street; and Kerr's in Dean Street. William Frew had a chip shop in Avenue Square at one time. Some businesses have disappeared for one reason or another including tailors (there were eleven in 1860), blacksmiths. cabinet makers, cattle dealers, cheese and meal dealers, stone-masons, and millers; and vintners too are from a bygone era.
Butchers in Stewarton, once called flesheis, used to do their own killing .Each shop has its own slaughter-house at the rear where the animals - cattle or sheep - were killed rather crudely by "fellers." Later the humane killer gun was introduced. The slaughter houses were inspected regularly by the local sanitary inspector. The ram's head engraved into the front of the wall of the red sandstone building at High Street indicates that a butcher's shopand slaughter-house existed there. The date below is 1888. It was the custom for drovers to drive the animals from the markets in Kilmamock to the butchers in Stewarton and it was common to see herds of cows or sheep being conducted along the main streets. Occasionally a wayward beast, somehow sensing its fate, would make a dash for it along Lainshaw Street or High Street through an entry into the back area of a tenement. A frenzied chase would follow accompanied by much cursing by the drover, and he was sometimes assisted by hordes of local weans until the animal was retrieved. May people still remember Drovers Blair, Bums, and Broon. New Street, the shortest street in the town with the shortest name, used to be buzzing with activity. On one side was Teford's or Highet's grain store, which later became MaeGowan's hosiery, then a furniture store and now the 147 Snooker Club. Whiteford's Pork Store was just across the street. Mr Whiteford wore a tile hat and a short swallow-tail coat and when serving customers he always asked the same question: "Whaur's yur suller?" When a housewife showed him the amount she wished to spend, she received a hough or pork ribs to the value. The farming community has always had a close link with the townspeople and they too used to escort animals through the town on their way to the markets elsewhere. Some farmers had milk runs and they appeared daily with their horses and carts selling eggs, milk and sour milk. The Lambertons of Cocklebie and the Harvies of High Cross were among those who retailed in the town, Stewarton was once a cattle-dealing town back in the days of the Cadgers Fairs last century when horse and cow fairs were held. There were three "smiddies" (blacksmiths) in or just outside the town, and one saddler. It has been said that the number of pawn shops in any town indicates the state of the economy. For what it's worth, Stewarton had three earlier this century. Willie Merrylees had one in Vennel Street; there was one in Lainshaw Street and another in Avenue Street. In 1910a group of farmers opened a creamery near Cocklebie Farm and the railway. Later it was taken over by the Scottish Milk Marketing Board, and it produced milk products, including cheeses and tinned cream. Adjacent to the creamery and also associated with the farmers' group was the piggery where pigs were reared before being sent to the market. Wattie Morton ran it for a while and he and his family lived in a nearby cottage. It closed down shortly after the war to make way for council house development at Ravenscraig Road. Among the trades, the oldest business in Stewarton is Robert Miller & Sons, founded in 1879.
The following is a list of shops, traders, and services in Stewarton in 1988.
BAKERS Short's Oven Door, Lainshaw Street. Lauder Lamond, Lainshaw Street. Carmen's Kitchen, Main Street.
BUTCHERS W. Allan & Son, High Street. W.W.Wales, High Street.
CHEMISTS McCee Pharmacy, Main Street. Stewarts Chemist, High Street.
FISHMONGER AND FRUITERER W. D. McGiU, Main Street.
FRUITERER & FLORISTS The Flower Basket, Lainshaw Street. The Fruit Shop, High Street.
FISH & CHIPS ETC. ICE CREAM Chip Box, Rigg Street. Pioli's Lainshaw Street.
RESTAURANTS & TEA ROOMS Polly Flinders, High Street. Victorian Parlour, Avenue Square. Coffe Pot, Main Street. Lauder/Lamond, Lainshaw Street.
HEALTH FOODS Health Shop, Avenue Square.
LICENSED GROCERS Mini Market, Pokelly Place. Kirkland's, High Street. Krazy Kuts, High Street. Presto Supermarket, High Street. Co-op Supermarket, Main Street.
OFF SALES (Licensed) The Cellar Main Street.
NEWSAGENTS, TOBACCONISTS, CONFECTIONS John Menzies, Main Street. James Thomson, The Cross. Papers also at Gaulds of Stewarton, Kirkland's, Mini Market. L & L Video (Sunday) Krazy Kuts (Sunday)
HAIRDRESSERS J. W. Hewitt, Lainshaw Street. Annette, Lainshaw Street. Studio 32, Lainshaw Street. Karia, Avenue Street. Claire.Vennel Street. Angela's, Brown Street. Cutting Crew, High Street.
LADIES FASHIONS Jen McLeod, Brown Street. Dress Shop, Main Street. Ruffles, Main Street. Compact, Avenue Square.
MEN'S WEAR & SPORTS GOODS John Gordon, Main Street.
CHILDREN'S WEAR Toddle Inn, Main Street.
MISCELLANEOUS The Thimble, Avenue Street. Jenny a' things, Lainshaw Street. Bits & Pieces, Lainshaw Street. Bizaare Bazaare, Brown Street. L & L Video Lainshaw Street. Hi Time Jeweller, High Street. Free Film Co " Main Street. Beez Neez, Dry Cleaners, Brown Street. Gift Shop, Main Street. Sweet Moments, High Street. Monitor Windows & Alarms, Rigg Street. Auto Discount, High Street. Maureen's Gift Shop, High Street.
SHOE SHOPS/REPAIRS Souter Johnnie's, Main Street. P & N Shoes, Lainshaw Street. Hart & Sole, Avenue Square.
PETS Animal Magic, Avenue Square.
MILK DELIVERIES R & J Whiteford, Ailsa View. R. Noble, Crossgates
LICENSED PREMISES (HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, PUBLIC HOUSES) Millhouse Hotel, Dean Street. Stewarton Arms, Avenue Square. The Bonnet, Brown Street. Wardhead Park Hotel, Kilmaurs Road. Chapeltoun House Hotel, Chapeltoun. Far Pavilions, Holm Street. David Dale Restaurant, Rigg Street. Mr Shek, Chinese Restaurant, High Street.
FURNITURE & WALK.-AROUND STORE Boydfields, High Street.
LICENSED CLUBS Stewarton Social Club, Lainshaw Street. Masonic Club, Springwell Place. Bowling Club, Dunlop Street, 147 Snooker Club, New Street.
BANKS, INSURANCE AGENTS, ESTATE AGENTS, BUILDING SOCIETY AGENTS. Bank of Scotland, High Street. Clydesdale Bank, Lainshaw Street. Royal Bank, Lainshaw Street. Halifax Building Society, Gilmour & Christie, High Street. Leeds Building Society, Annick Financial Services, Lainshaw Street. Peter M. Brown, C.A., Lainshaw Street. Alan C.S. MacDougall Old Glasgow Road. R. W. Colvill & Co., Main Street.
GARAGES ETC. McEadzeans of Stewarton, Rigg Street. Blair Garage, Rigg Street. Armours Garage, Bus Hires, High Street. Gaulds Petrol Station, Brown Street. David Schramm.Dunlop Road. George Brown, Standalane. C.B. Motors, Vennel Street.
CHIROPODIST John Campbell, Main Street.
DENTISTS Elizabeth Legatte, Corsehillbank Street. Glidden & Graham, High Street.
SERVICES Social Work Department, High Street. Post Office, High Street. Kilmarnock & Loudoun District Council, Avenue Square. Stewarton Health Centre, High Street. RWS School of Driving. Resource Centre, Avenue Square. J. Cuthbertson, School of Driving.
CATERING Corsehill Caterers, Jubilee Place. Kerrswood, Vennel Street.
BOOKMAKER John McDermott
VAN SERVICES Pioli, Ice Cream. George Sibbald, Groceries, etc. J. G. Waugh, Fruit & Vegetables, etc.
OPTICIAN D. Bonelli & Partners, Main Street.
TRADES
BUILDERS S. Templeton R.Dick Title Homes
JOINERS G. A. Contracts (G. Cunningham) J. Cume S. Faulds
PAINTERS A. Lawrie R. Dullick J. Connor Reilly & Wamock E. Minnes & Son
PLASTERERS D. Brown & Son G. Duncan R. Prendargast
SLATERS & ROUGHCASTERS R. Hall & Son R. Miller & Son W. Wallace (Also Chimney Sweep) Winmatt
PLUMBERS & HEATING ETC. R. Miller & Son M. & P., Plumbing & Heating Engineers
CARPET FITTERS W. Eraser G. Carroll
ELECTRICIANS J.K. Electrics (Jack Hall) J. Murphy A. Black
UNDERTAKERS W. S. Faulds Co-op
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