Of wood mills and clothes pegs – and more besides

Alistair Carr has written in with a wealth of information about where the big wooden clothes pegs were made.

He thinks the majority of them came from Jimmy Macfarlane’s pin mill at the Knapp. These were made initially at the “wee mill” until it was gutted by fire in 1939. The machinery was then installed in the adjacent ‘big mill’ or bobbin mill which made bobbins for the jute industry.

“Production then concentrated on clothes pins/pegs. My late, elder brother and I, and occassionally our sister too, frequently worked in the mill during school holidays and Saturdays.

“The felled hardwood trees, mainly plane trees I think, were supplied and delivered from Rossie Priory Estate by their forestry workers.

“Every part of the process thereafter, which I clearly recall, was done in the mill. Every week numerous sacks containing a gross of smooth, beeswax polished pegs were delivered to Dundee.

“Production ceased in the mid-late ’50s when a fire destroyed the kiln house, seasoning shed and the long saw bench.

“The mill was one of a dozen or so industries that harnessed the flow of the Knapp burn for power.

“On looking back it was far from a pleasant place to work. The gable wall at the water wheel perpetually glistened with water seepage. I was always cold, with no form of heating, and the big sliding door at the front always open as the main source of light. Occasionally this was supplemented by Tilley lamps.

“The incessant noise was indescribable. Two overhead shafts which ran the full length of the mill had numerous pulley wheels on them, with belts running down to drive the very noisy saws, turner, slitter, pointer plus the polishing barrels rumbling on the upper floor.

“Fish processors from Arbroath came regularly to buy the hardwood shavings, scrap wood and sawdust for smoking purposes.

“Today the “Old Mill” is a substantial, desirable house in the village.

“A limited number of pins were also produced at our grandfather and uncles’ mill a mile further up the road and burn at East Newton.

“Their main products were scythe sneds (handles) and hay rakes. Only to a lesser extent did they make clothes pegs, clothes horses and other things as required locally.

“The original mill there also burned down after it passed out of the family’s hands.

“A very modern mill now operates from the site with all the machinery powered by electricity. It still trades under the original family name and a scythe sned and hay rake are mounted on the road-facing wall above the company name.

“The proprietor is currently the Bare Bow Archery World Champion, hence the numerous targets on the surrounding bankings . Sadly all the dams and lades are silted up or filled in, and the waterwheels long since gone apart from the one remaining at the Estate saw mill at Trottick.”

What a wonderfully comprehensive account. Thank you Alistair!

East Newton saw mill pre-Second World War. You can see the size of the raw materials they dealt with. See the story above.

As the nights start drawin’ in, we’ll remember days like these. Thanks to Eric Niven for the lovely picture of the River Tay at Dunkeld.