Matthew Pollock is considered to be a pioneer of the modern factory system. He was born 05 June 1833 in Beith, the second of eight children born to parents John Pollock, a Grocer, and Agnes Wilson. Both Matthew and his younger brother John served their apprenticeship with James Dale, a Beith cabinet maker. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he worked in Glasgow as a cabinetmaker journeyman for a while before returning to Beith in 1857 and with his brother John, began their own business, the Victoria Cabinet Works.
Deciding to strike out on his own, Matthew Pollock erected the Caledonia Cabinet & Chair Works at Laigh Road, Beith, in 1879, next to the Victoria Cabinet Works. The factory consisted of several three and four-storey white buildings with towering chimneys. Its woodyard held a variety of different types of wood, such as Scotch oak, wainscot oak, Spanish mahogany, walnut and rosewood. A large crane in the centre of the woodyard transferred the wood to the wood mill. The factory covered approximately one and a half acres of land.
After the wood was cut as required, it was transferred to a four-storey building which contained the drying stores. Here the temperature was kept at a constant 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit to season the wood.
Once the wood had been seasoned it was taken to the main factory where it was transformed into all types of furniture for the dining room, drawing room or bedroom, such as cabinets, mantels and overmantels, bookcases, sideboards and chairs, in a variety of fashionable styles including Queen Anne, Renaissance and Chippendale, etc. The chair department produced around 20,000 dining room chairs, armchairs, occasional chairs, and hall chairs per year.
On Saturday 10 January 1891 a wine and cake banquet was held to celebrate the installation of a powerful horizontal tandem condensing steam engine, built by Messrs. Robert Kerr and Sons of Glengarnock.
During World War One wooden aeroplane wings were produced at the Caledonia Cabinet Works to support the war effort. The furniture produced by the Caledonia Cabinet Works was renowned for its elegance. They built furniture for the British ocean liners, RMS Queen Mary (launched 1936) and RMS Queen Elizabeth II (launched 1967). The Caledonia Cabinet Works closed around 1972. In its heyday the factory employed around 250 people.
Matthew married Jeanie Stuart on 10 April 1860 in Tradeston, Glasgow and they had two children, John, born 19 March 1861 and Susan, born 19 August 1863, both born in Beith. Matthew Pollock died Tuesday 27 February 1912 due to pneumonia. In character he was described as being energetic and determined, overcoming many difficulties during his career. In politics he was a staunch Unionist. He was a Justice of the Peace for the County of Ayr and an elder in the Beith Parish Church. He lived at Victoria Villa, 41 Laigh Road, Beith, which was built for him in 1874, next to where he would later erect the Caledonia Cabinet and Chair Works. Carved into the stonework above the entrance to the Villa are Matthew Pollock’s initials. Laigh Court, a retired housing complex built in 1991, sits on the site of the former Victoria Cabinet and Chair Works and Caledonia Cabinet and Chair works.