2015 Girders at Blantyre Mills

Whilst out walking in June at the old Mills near the David Livingstone Centre, I stumbled on some old girders, belonging to the last mill building still standing. The girders are alongside a small walkway, with a large hole for machinery on one side. The girders themselves now ironically forming a safety barrier. Somebody (and I don’t know whom) has found the embossed markings on the girder and coloured them gold, to make them stand out.

The iron girders originated in England at Middlesbrough. Now that somebody had taken the time and effort to highlight this, I wanted to find out more. Dorman Long & Co were founded in 1875, confirming the girders were not as old as I had previously thought. The company specialised in supplying heavy duty iron girders, then later steel for large construction bridges such as bridges, power stations and railways. Incredibly, their most famous contract was to build Sydney Harbour Bridge. Dorman Long still exists today under the Millennium name, Dorman Long Technologies. I hope this adds a little bit of detail for the person who painted over the embossed and almost lost markings.