Blantyre Mills established in the 1780's

Blantyre Mills were established by David Dale and James Monteith in the 1780's for the spinning of water twist yarn. the mills expanded steadily throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, with the introduction of Turkey Red dyeing in 1804 (the second such factory in Scotland), and a weaving factory in 1813. (more)

The bell tower on the roof of the building was probably used for summoning workers at the ungodly hour of 6.00 a.m. Staff were employed to work 77 hours a week with breaks amounting to less than two hours per day, and although this regime sounds gruelling, (more)

Blantyre Mills 1903

Workers Village c.1830

A workers village was built around the mills c. 1830, and by 1836 its population was approaching 2000. Facilities for the self-sufficient mill community included a public washing house, bleaching green, graveyard and school. (more)

This c. 1903 picture shows the edge of the mill village, now the approach to David Livingstones Memorial. The village gates stood on this road near the bridge, and were closed every night after a 10.00 p.m. curfew. the round building on the right is marked as the site of the post office in maps of 1899, (more)

Mill Village Post Office

Blantyre Mill School

Blantyre Mill School was built in the late 1820's on a site to the north of the village, and also functioned as a chapel when required. Its most famous pupil was the Victorian missionary David Livingstone, born in 1813. Livingstone started work at the age of ten, (more)

Shuttle Row, built around 1780, was home to twenty-four families, including David Livingstone's. Conditions were basic, and its turret walls were inset with cast iron 'jaw-boxes' where sewerage was deposited, which must have made the approach to the house particularly unpleasant. (more)

Shuttle Row

Livingstone's Birth Room

Livingstone's entitre family once lived in this tiny room, photographed in the 1920's. The old village grounds were purchased in 1927 to create the David Livingstone Memorial, and two years were spent working on the Shuttle Row tenement before the museum opened. Generations of curators must... (more)

Livingstone sailed for Algoa Bay, South Africa, in December 1840. His first stop was a mission station in Kruman in what is now Botswana, and it was there that he met Mary Moffat whom he married in 1845. After Mary died in 1862, Livingstone was commissioned... (more)

Model of Hut where Livingstone died.

High Blantyre 1904