The building which later became known as the Calder Glen Laundry, was originally a wool mill built by John and William Crawfurd in 1814 who sold their yarn to Kilmarnock carpet manufacturers. Following John Crawfurd’s death in the early 1850s, his brother formed a partnership with Robert Williamson. When William Crawford died in 1881, his family sold their share in the mill to his partner Robert Williamson who continued to run it for a short while as a woollen mill, before converting the building to a laundry.
The laundry consisted of two large buildings, the first consisted of three stories, and the second consisted of four stories, with several out-houses surrounding them. In 1888 only one of the two buildings was being used, while the second was being converted to purpose. On the ground floor were the dash wheels and washing machines, where the laundry was steeped, thoroughly rinsed and boiled, before being wrung through by a Hydro Extractor. The washed clothing was then sent to an upper floor of the building to be hung and dried in a stove kept at a temperature of 120 degrees.
Approximately 960 to 1200 linen shirts were laundered every day, before being sent to be starched, using a blue preparation created by Robert Williamson. They also laundered around 4,800 collars, cuffs and shirt fronts every day. The starched laundry was then sent to the dressing room to be ironed. In 1888, the irons were heated by gas, with asbestos being used to prevent combustion. We now know that asbestos is a highly dangerous substance which can be lethal. Commercial importation of asbestos began in the 1880’s. The ironers were paid on piecework, i.e., the more items that they ironed, the more they earned. The finished items were then sent to the ticket office, where they were inspected, before being sent to the packing room. Each piece of clothing had a ticket attached which recorded the names of those who had worked on it. The Calder Glen Laundry not only handled laundry for the British market, they also shipped laundry to Ireland and the Colonies. In 1888 the laundry employed 80 people. In January 1920 the Calder Glen Laundry moved to 60/64 Fullarton Street, Irvine at which time it was run by Morrison Bros. The Calder Glen Laundry closed in 1950 and its premises were used as a garage by North Ayrshire Coaches Ltd., who were later taken over by the AA Bus Company.
Further Reading
Calder Glen Laundry at Canmore.org
Calder Glen Laundry at lochwinnoch.info