Here’s another illustration of Blantyre Works Mills. A scene from the late 19th Century, this pen and ink drawing has the vantage point from the Bothwell side of the River Clyde. Looking across to the mills, we can see Shuttle Row on the high ground.
These buildings were all whitewashed, many hundreds of people, some as young as eleven employed in that location. This was where David Livingstone started working.
However, if you think this was a quiet, rural scene, you would be wrong. That farmer in the foreground would have been listening to the sounds of industry. The clattering of weaving machines, steam and water with an acrid smell of tar burning, allegedly burned as a ‘more pleasant’ smell than the dyes themselves!
Thanks to Alex Rochead for sharing this illustration.