In 1896, the future of the buildings at Blantyre Works was in doubt. The old mill buildings and many of the homes lay derelict after a decline of the mill itself.
However, in August, a flicker of hope was offered for Blantyre Village when it was reported in a local newspaper that brighter days were about to return to the mills. It would turn out to be a misguided hope.
The old mills on the Clyde at Blantyre, long occupied by Sir Henry Monteith & Co were prior to 1896, empty for a number of years. They had fallen into disrepair with loose slates, broken windows and rotting timber. It was said too that some contractors were removing materials in order to obtain cheap materials for the progression of building new properties throughout the district.
That August, Mr Fossart, a German partly took over the buildings and the remainder were being negotiated for. Some excitement prevailed in the village when it was learned that a large manufacturing company in England was interested and had visited the grounds, gone over them and made notes. People learned that the company had made it known just how interested they were in obtaining the mills.
However, as we know, this didn’t come to be and the deal fell through, the village then attracting the interest of Coalmasters in the area, intent on housing their workforce. Many of the mill buildings and homes were demolished a short time later by 1903.
Blantyre Mills are pictured at that time and the level of dereliction can easily be seen.
