Tourism
and energy are the mainstays of North-East Scotland's business life; fishing
and farming remain important industries. There have been many others.
Established in 1136 at the Dee's mouth, Aberdeen harbour is the longest
existing business in Britain. The Shore Porters Society was set up in 1498, six
years after Columbus discovered America. Our quarries earned export income and
provided the stone for Granite City's monuments, bridges and buildings. Closed
since 1971, Rubislaw Quarry was once the largest man-made hole in Europe.
Marischal College is the world's second largest granite building after Madrid's
El Escorial Palace.
Ship-building
and textiles were prominent industries - I can recall the sound of hooters and
the sight of workers as they poured from Hall Russell’s York Place shipyard,
and Richards linen and jute manufactory at the Broadford Works on Maberley
Street, once the city's largest single employer. Both are now closed.
This
short article concentrates on the Comb Works and the manufacture of Crombie
coats, two stories from Aberdeen's industrial past. I've lumped them together
not only because it makes for a good alliterative title, but also because the
conflation reveals some similarities with the history and success of both
industries.
The
production of combs in Aberdeen was introduced in 1788, the year of Byron's
birth. John Stewart scaled up Aberdeen Comb Works on Hutcheon Street from 1830,
growing the business through the use of new steam-powered machinery. By 1851
the works was the largest comb factory in the UK, possibly in the world. For a
tortoise shell effect, some combs had to be hand-made. 730,000 ox horns, four
million hooves, sea-tortoise shell, wood, whalebone and ivory were imported
through Aberdeen docks.
As the
Comb Works flourished, the seeds were being sown for high-quality woollen
production beside Aberdeen's other river, the Don. Weaver John Crombie had
taken over Cothal Mills at Fintray in 1805, the year of the Battle of
Trafalgar. A waterfall saved him the expense of steam-driven machinery: the
locals donated piss and blood which made a good scouring mixture for the
material.
In 1859 J & J Crombie moved to Grandholm Mill, where the waterwheel was the largest in the world. Over the years the firm produced uniforms and coats. An early example of cool branding, spies, tsars and mods adopted the Crombie coat.
Devotees of note include Sir Thomas Glover, Cary Grant, the Beatles, Mikhail Gorbachev, John F Kennedy and Doctor Who.
The founding family sold its interest in the company in 1928. Grandholm Mill closed in 1990. The building is now in business and residential use, and houses a fusion restaurant, the Spice Mill.
Reader Sue Edwards recalls a visit to Grandholm Mill in the 1970's. She was given two bottles of spinning oil for her handspinning; she suspects that it was whale oil.
Related/of
interest.
Street
names in Aberdeen reflect past trading - commodities, artisans and
countries. Candlemakers' Lane, Wrights'
and Coopers' Place, Cotton Street, Flourmill Lane, Virginia Street, Baltic
Place, Jamaica Street and Patagonia Court spring to mind.
“Up Fittie, down with the Hun” - xenophobia
and trade. Post-war trawling and granite. This article by Textor guesting on
lenathehyena's blog describes fishing riots in Aberdeen and workers' unrest
within the granite industry during the 1920s.
Darg and
drams is the culmination of Kate Steenhauer's artistic explorations at the
shipyards, heliport and hangars of Aberdeen, the Oil Capital of Europe, where
workers grump and joke in muted tones at 'red-eye time'.
In the
barns where whisky casks are made; a trade associated with traditional skills
and craftsmanship. At Knockando Woolmill where woollen textiles are created on
Victorian machinery. In Thainstone Mart, where the ringmaster auctions
livestock by circling them before a captive audience. In the pubs where music
carries the locals into the early hours after a long week of grafting.
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