Laidlaw & Fairgrieve: The Rise and Fall of a Borders Spinning Mill

Founding in Galashiels (1864–1880)

In 1864 William Laidlaw and Thomas Fairgrieve joined forces to launch a new textile company in Galashiels. Laidlaw was an experienced weaver from J & W Cochrane’s factory, and Fairgrieve had managed the adjacent Ladhope Mill. That year they began renting Ladhope Mill, and in 1868 they bought it outright from its owners Sanderson & Paterson. Laidlaw & Fairgrieve then focused on producing high-quality woollen yarns and fabrics under their own name. Their Saxony-weight cloth (a fine woollen fabric) earned a strong reputation, and they supplied knitting and weaving yarns to nearby businesses throughout the Borders.

The Ladhope Mill site itself had a long industrial pedigree. Originally built in 1793, by the 1840s it already had its own dam, a steam engine and wool-cleaning machinery. In other words, L&F took over a fully functioning factory. Laidlaw & Fairgrieve promptly began modernising it further – for example, they installed a powerful 250-horsepower steam engine in 1881 to drive more machines. By the late 1870s the company was well established: William Laidlaw had even become Provost (mayor) of Galashiels, reflecting the mill’s importance to the town. When Laidlaw died in 1880, Thomas Fairgrieve and his two sons (also named Thomas and Andrew) carried on the partnership under the familiar company name, ensuring continuity of both the family business and its standing in Galashiels.

Innovation and Expansion (1880–1920)

After William Laidlaw’s death the firm continued to grow. In the 1880s and 1890s L&F added new spinning and winding machinery to meet rising demand. In 1881 the installation of a 250-horsepower steam engine (then the largest in Galashiels) greatly increased capacity – it could turn hundreds of spindles and looms via overhead shafting. The company also invested in advanced carding sets and wool-combing machines, improving the quality of the yarn.

By the early 1900s Laidlaw & Fairgrieve embraced electricity. In 1912 the Galashiels mill became the first in the town to generate its own power from a water turbine on the Gala Water. This hydroelectric plant produced clean, cheap electricity that ran the factory’s motors and lighting, supplementing the existing steam boilers. In practical terms this meant every new machine could be fitted with its own motor, reducing the need for long shaft lines and belting.

Laidlaw & Fairgrieve also expanded geographically. In 1915 the company purchased Riverside Mill (also called Dunsdale Mill) in Selkirk, taking over a wool-spinning works on the banks of the Ettrick Water. Then in 1917 it acquired Brown, Allen & Co of Selkirk – a firm specialising in fine hosiery yarns. Brown & Allen had been known for cashmere-blend yarns supplied to Hawick knitters. With this takeover L&F greatly broadened its product range: it could now spin the high-quality cashmere and lambswool yarns needed by the Borders’ knitwear and shawl industries. The enlarged firm was incorporated as Laidlaw & Fairgrieve Ltd in 1920, cementing its status as a leading textile enterprise in the Borders.

Fire and Rebuilding (1928–1930)

A dramatic fire in December 1928 gutted the old Ladhope Mill in Galashiels. The blaze, which started in the evening and took hours to extinguish, left only charred walls of what had been a multi-storey building. Insurance later estimated the loss at over £100,000 – a huge sum – but the owners were undaunted. They immediately began plans for a modern replacement.

By 1930 a brand-new mill stood on the site. This rebuilt facility was fully electric: each carding machine and spinner had its own electric motor, supplied by on-site generators, and the drive shafts of the old mill were largely gone. The new mill was constructed of reinforced concrete with large windows and a sawtooth roof to admit daylight (typical of the era). It housed fifteen carding sets – machines that cleaned and aligned wool fibres – among other up-to-date equipment. The building also featured mechanical ventilation and humidity control systems (often referred to at the time as “air conditioning”) to keep the atmosphere just right for processing wool. This 1930 mill was a statement of confidence in the future of woollen spinning.

After rebuilding, Laidlaw & Fairgrieve shifted almost entirely to spinning and yarn production. Weaving became a minor in-house activity and was largely taken over by other firms or home-based weavers. Instead, L&F concentrated on producing top-grade yarns. These included cashmere wool (an exceptionally fine wool from the Kashmir goat used for luxury shawls and knitwear), lambswool (soft wool from young sheep, spun into smooth yarn for blankets and tweeds), camel hair (a long insulating fibre from camels, spun into yarn for warm overcoats and coverings), and mohair (the lustrous hair of the Angora goat, used in blended yarns for fashionable garments). The mill also produced machine-knitting yarns – mid-weight woollen yarns sold to garment manufacturers and home knitters. Hawick’s famous knitwear trade became a major customer: many of L&F’s cashmere and worsted yarns were knitted into sweaters and scarves there. In essence, the 1930 L&F factory was a yarn factory – turning raw woollen fibre into high-quality yarns ready for export or domestic weaving and knitting.

Yarns and Products

• Cashmere yarn: An exceptionally fine, downy wool from Cashmere goats. L&F spun this into very delicate yarn used for luxury shawls and sweater knits. Their cashmere yarns were prized by designers and handknitters alike for softness.

• Lambswool yarn: Wool taken from first-year lambs, combed into worsted yarn. The result was a silky-soft yarn often woven into blankets and tweed cloth. L&F’s lambswool yarns were noted for their warmth and smooth feel.

• Camel-hair yarn: Insulating fibres from the two-humped Bactrian camel. Camel hair spun (often blended with wool) became yarn for high-end overcoats and blankets. This was a specialty line for L&F, serving niche fashion and export markets.

• Mohair yarn: Shorn from Angora goats, mohair fibres are silky and lustrous. L&F spun mohair (typically mixed with wool or synthetics) into yarns for premium women’s skirts and sweaters that catch the light.

• Knitting yarn: Mid-weight wool yarns sold for machine or hand knitting of sweaters, hats and socks. L&F supplied these to garment factories and to shops for home knitters; popular styles of the mid-20th century – like fair isle and Aran patterns – used yarns of this type.

• Tweed fabric: In its early years L&F also wove tweed cloth on site. Over time weaving was mostly outsourced, but the mill did produce some finished tartans and tweed at Ladhope before 1930.

Mill Technology

• 1881 – Steam power: A 250‑horsepower steam engine was installed, enabling the mill to run hundreds of spindles and looms via line shafts. This was by far the largest woollen-engine in Galashiels at the time.

• 1912 – Hydroelectricity: L&F became the first Galashiels mill to generate its own electric power. A water turbine on the Gala Water drove generators for lights and motors in the factory, supplementing the steam boilers.

• 1920s – Electric motors: By the 1930 rebuild, individual electric motors were fitted to carding machines and spinning frames. The main drive shafts were being phased out, improving efficiency and safety.

• Other machinery: L&F’s plant also included scouring tanks (to wash raw wool), carbonising drums (to remove vegetable matter), and spinning mules and ring frames to draw out and twist the yarn. They acquired new looms and winders as needed to handle increasing output. (Some woven cloth was still produced on occasional looms at the Galashiels works.)

• Dyehouse (1962): A modern dyeing plant was added in Selkirk in 1962 (under Dawson’s ownership) to colour the yarns before shipping, equipped with vats and high-pressure dye machines – a late addition to the mill’s technology.

Mill Life: Employment and Community

Laidlaw & Fairgrieve was one of Galashiels’ major employers, with two or three hundred staff in its heyday. The workforce mirrored the norms of the woollen industry. Men generally held the engineering, maintenance and management jobs – serving as millwrights, boilermen, electricians and foremen – while women made up the majority of the machine operatives on the carding machines, spinning frames and knitters. Many workers were local: it was common for Galashiels and Selkirk families to have several members in textiles, sometimes across generations.

Young people entered the mill at an early age. By law, no child under 13 could work in a woollen mill, but schoolgirls of 13 or 14 often served as “half-timers,” spending part of the week in class and part at a machine. By the late 19th century the schooling age had risen, so most new operatives joined full-time around age 15. A full workweek around 1900 was about 60 hours (ten hours a day, six days a week). This eventually eased to roughly 54 hours by mid-century and to around 40–44 hours by the 1970s, as labour laws and trade unions improved conditions. Still, a decade of service was not unusual, and many careers at the mill lasted 30 years or more.

The interior of a working mill was physically demanding. Even in winter, the spinning rooms of L&F were kept warm and humid to prevent wool fibres from breaking. Heavy belts, pulleys and gears turned above the workers, so management gradually fitted guards and improved safety. Despite these measures, the work was noisy and labour-intensive: knotters had to repair broken threads by hand, and winding yarn into skeins was repetitive and tiring. Many operatives worked the same machine all day, building a steady rhythm. Women and men laboured at different rates: initially men were paid higher piece-rates than women, although by the mid-20th century the gap had narrowed in many firms. Wages were modest by today’s standard; as a result, it was common for wives or siblings to work in the mill alongside male breadwinners. However, employment at L&F was seen as stable and respectable – in a town of multiple mills, a steady job there was a valued asset.

The mill also helped shape social life. For Galashiels and Selkirk, the L&F factory was a community hub. Generations of neighbours and families would pour out of the factory gates together at shift-end, streaming towards trams, buses or walking home. The company often supported local events: directors donated prizes for agricultural shows, a few men sponsored sports teams, and the firm was represented at civic functions. There was real pride in being part of “Laidlaw & Fairgrieve.” The yarn they spun was known to weavers everywhere, and townsfolk took satisfaction in knowing their work clothe people from London to the Highlands. In this way the factory’s rhythm – and even its boiler whistle – echoed through daily life in the towns.

Post-war Prosperity and New Ownership (1945–1970)

After World War II the Borders textile industry enjoyed a last golden age, and L&F was busy spinning again for civilian and military orders alike. In 1950 the company decided to broaden its capital base. It brought in outside investors and linked up with William Baird & Co of Glasgow (another woollen firm). This infusion of new funds allowed L&F to upgrade equipment at Ladhope: new spinning frames, improved carding machines and even knitting machines were added as the demand for woollens briefly held strong in the 1950s.

A more decisive change occurred in 1961, when Joseph Dawson (Holdings) Ltd took over Laidlaw & Fairgrieve. Dawson was the Lancashire-born combine behind Pringle knitwear, and it wanted to secure a guaranteed yarn supply for its own factories. Although ownership had changed, L&F initially remained very much a Scottish operation. Sir Russell Fairgrieve – the grandson of founder Thomas Fairgrieve – stayed on to run the Galashiels works, keeping the business in local hands. Dawson immediately invested in new facilities: in 1962 a modern dyehouse was built in Selkirk so that L&F could dye wool yarns at home rather than send them away. In 1964 the group opened an additional woollen mill at Dalkeith (near Edinburgh) under the L&F name, aimed largely at government contracts and technical textiles.

By the mid-1960s Laidlaw & Fairgrieve was part of an international conglomerate, but with regional leadership. In fact, Dawson’s Scottish operations were often run by Scots. When Sir Russell Fairgrieve retired from the board in 1965, his successor was Sir Alan Smith, a long-time Dawson director. Under this arrangement L&F continued to function as the Dawsons’ yarn-producing arm in the Borders. Company offices remained in Galashiels, and local managers ran day-to-day affairs, even as raw wool continued to flow in and yarn flowed out under the L&F name.

Transition and Closure (1980s–1999)

By the late 20th century the global picture had changed dramatically. Cheap imports, synthetic fibres and shifts in fashion put the traditional Borders mills under strain. Dawson International found it increasingly hard to justify all its production facilities. Laidlaw & Fairgrieve struggled along, but output slowly declined. The old Selkirk spinning mill (Riverside Mill) – no longer in the textile boom – was closed in 1984 and its spinning mules were removed by 1988, though the site remained in use as a warehouse.

The Galashiels works limped into the 1990s, but in October 1998 Dawson announced the inevitable: the Galashiels mill would close. About 200 workers at Ladhope would lose their jobs, along with roughly 45 at the Selkirk works (mostly in finishing and stores). The news was a blow to the community: for many families it ended a lifelong association with “the mill.” Production officially wound down by late 1999. After decades of spinning nearly around the clock, the machines fell silent. The Ladhope site was left empty and silent by 2000.

Demolition of the old buildings began in 2002. Crews dismantled the familiar red-brick and concrete shed, removing equipment and steel. By mid-2003 the great 1930s spinning shed was almost entirely gone, its site cleared. Only a fragmentary corner section of wall remained – a single multi-story block that locals nicknamed “L&F’s corner.” That stub of wall stood alone for a few years before it too was finally taken down. In its place began a new chapter for the old mill land.

Laidlaw Court, the modern housing development on the former L&F mill site in Galashiels (photographed 2010). The old factory complex has been cleared away and replaced with flats. After demolition the land was repurposed by a local housing association. A new apartment complex was built and fittingly named Laidlaw Court, keeping the company’s name alive in the neighbourhood. The street where the mill gates once stood is now a quiet residential road; children play on lawns where power looms once hummed. In this way the legacy of L&F still marks the town’s geography, even though the looms, looms and machinery have vanished.

Legacy in the Borders

Today almost nothing physical remains of the Laidlaw & Fairgrieve factory – only a few machinery remnants preserved in museums – but its impact is still remembered. In Galashiels the company’s story is preserved by local historians and museums. The Borders Textile Towerhouse (the former Old Gala House) has exhibits about the shawl-weaving and knitting trades, including references to major firms like L&F. The town’s identity is still tied to wool: the Great Tapestry of Scotland project in Galashiels, for example, used locally woven border fabric and recounts the region’s textile history.

The name L&F even survives in street and project names. As noted, Galashiels has a Laidlaw Court, and some local publications and tours of the town will point out where Ladhope Mill stood. Company archives and pattern books (such as sample books of shawl patterns) survive in the Scottish Borders Archives, so the firm can still be studied by researchers.

Across the Gala River in Selkirk, the old Riverside (Dunsdale) Mill complex stands as a ruin. It is Category B listed, so its stone engine house and workshops still overlook the river. Though Laidlaw & Fairgrieve only owned it in its final years, local people sometimes refer to it as “the old L&F mill.” The site has been used for industrial storage but there have been proposals to convert it into apartments or offices, echoing Galashiels’ story. As of 2025 the Riverside Mill awaits a definitive future, its brick and slate buildings a silent reminder of the spinning trade.

Most important of all, the memory of Laidlaw & Fairgrieve lives on in people’s stories. Former workers recall long days in the Galashiels sheds, and grandchildren may still hear tales of “grandad’s shed.” Annual heritage events in the Borders often feature Border textiles, and L&F is part of that narrative. Although the company itself is no more, it remains woven into the rich fabric of Galashiels and Selkirk history – a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit, the craftsmanship and the close-knit community that defined the great era of woollen manufacturing in the Scottish Borders.