During the 1960’s this was one of the exhibits inside the David Livingstone Centre. Many of you will have seen this at some point if you visited the centre. It’s a weaving loom, an example of which a young David Livingstone would have worked at.
These were dangerous machines, quite often having children working nearby, who could easily fit underneath it if it were ever to jam. It is said David himself operated one of these, placing a book at one end to read whilst he worked. An education whilst you worked!
The Mills founded in 1785 were a blessing to many, bringing work to Blantyre and effectively putting it on the map as a growing place to live and work. For over a Century the mills brought significant employment for entire families who usually lived nearby within the Works Village.
