In the past Beith has had the honour of being the most important furniture-manufacturing town in Scotland and over the years had Beith for itself a reputation for high quality furniture. Before the industry had even started in Beith, the town had consisted of low thatched houses and two storey buildings, in the style of a typically quaint country town, and had a workforce of 420 handloom weavers operating from two storey buildings where the ground floor had been used as the workshop, while the upper floor had been used as the living area.

The Pioneers

The furniture industry started in Beith between the years 1845-1855, when Mr Mathew Dale started the ball rolling by making furniture to order for local people, since these were his main customers and the articles that he made had to be suitable for the requirements of his customers homes. Examples of the types of furniture that he made were kitchen tables and chairs and chests of drawers and these formed the bulk of the orders that he produced for the people of Beith and surrounding area. Items such as sideboards and similar items were very little known and were at any rate unsuitable for his customers needs.

All of the pieces of furniture were made by hand, as was the plan-ing, sawing, boring, shaping and jointing, because there were no machines available at this time. The demand for his goods in-creased so quickly that he was forced to employ several boys just to help cope with this increase in demand. This helped to relieve the pressure for a short time but he then had to increase his workforce by a further three men.

Before we proceed any further and before leaving him we must mention that he was more than the pioneer of the furniture in-dustry in Beith; he also set Matthew Pollock, a former employee, onto this line of work. It is through Matthew Pollock that we can trace the beginnings of the factory system, and see its importance.

Matthew Pollock was an energetic young man who was full of ideas. He conceived the idea of bringing in machinery to help with the manufacture of furniture: He put this into practice in 1858 when he and his brother John built the first factory alongside the Glasgow and South Western Railway Line which was close to Kilbirnie Loch. This railway was one mile from the town of Beith, and connected Lochwinnoch, Glengarnock, Dalry and the coastal towns to Glasgow. The Railway Company agreed to construct a siding for their convenience of transport, which helped to save time in the loading and unloading of goods, and it also helped to save labour.

The opening of this factory saw the first machines being brought into use, and these helped to increase the speed of production from the old hand working method so that by 1862, the trade had developed so much that they were able to introduce surface and planing machines.

All of the aforementioned helped to speed up production even further and a few years later the business had developed into the factory system, where the divisions of labour were carried out. The machines were operated by men who prepared and dressed the wood, reduced it to the required sizes, moulded it, and some-times also prepared the joints. When this was finished it was sent to the benchmen who were left to construct and complete the piece of furniture. This was done by what was called the piecework system, a system whereby the worker received an agreed amount for each article he completed.

The only problem with the situation of the factory, which was called Bark Mill, was that there were no houses nearby and no means of transport to connect the factory with the town. Because of this it meant that the workers had to walk to and from their work to their homes, which was a disadvantage that was not to the liking of the Pollock brothers. They had been in business together for twelve years when they entered into a bargain with Mr Robert Balfour, a former Glasgow man who had a workshop in Wilson Street, in which they sold him the factory as a going concern.

Their period of inactivity was short lived because soon afterwards they moved into a fairly large factory in the town. They called this factory 'THE VICTORIA CABINET WORKS". This factory was found to be inadequate for their purposes after ~ comparatively short time, and was extended until it was larger than the one they had sold to Mr Balfour. In this factory they installed more up-to-date machinery and the Pollock Brothers became very successful.

Their new factory had an obvious effect on Mr Balfour who found it increasingly difficult to get men to travel to his factory from the town, which caused a problem because it was hard to replace the ones he had lost to the Pollocks, with new workers who were willing to walk up to 3 miles to work. This scarcity of skilled workers led to the introduction of a scheme, whereby boys served a five year apprenticeship before they were recognised as bein8 fully trained. So as not to be outdone by the Pollock brothers Mr Balfour built a new factory alongside the new Glasgow1 Barrhead, and Kilmarnock railway, which had opened at the south end of the town. This was a wise move since this branch line opened up a new area, connecting as it did Beith with Lugton, Barrhead and all places on the line up to Glasgow, and also served Kilmarnock and the South. The railway company agreed to put in a siding, which added to the already good situation of the factory, and was a great boon. In 1872 Mr Balfour transferred his business into its new ideal home.

Since Beith had now reached such a high position in the manufacture of furniture it is quite reasonable that we should start to look for a reason for this. It was due mainly to the foresight and untiring efforts of those pioneers and their successors that Beith attained its position. Although not all the credit can go to them; if the workers had not put their shoulders to the wheel and formed the bond between the men at the machines and those at benches, then this would not have been possible. If they had not adapted themselves to the conditions in the factories and also to the changes in the outside world, they would have been unable to build for Beith a name which would become famous far beyond the boundaries of Scotland.

During those early days there was no importation of labour from other furniture towns, the work being done by locals. Many of the workers had given up their former occupation as handloom weavers to work in the factories. After a short time machine made furniture began to make its presence felt and began to have a serious effect on the hand shops of Edinburgh and the Borders. The trained men of these places were anxious for work, so they sought. out the source of the change and headed for Beith. Once they reached Beith they entered the local factories and through the new ideas they introduced gave a great stimulus to the furniture industry in Beith.

Expansion of the Furniture Industry in Beith

The Pollocks and the Balfours were not the only ones who saw the possibilities of the industry, and between the years 1875 and 1885 several new factories opened, the first being opened by James Gardiner, who had worked for J & M Pollock, and who had started on a fairly large scale. Another two local men who went into business were GaIt & Wilson, followed shortly by Matthew Pollock, who had opened another factory after he had a difference of opinion with his brother John. This new venture had started on a large scale and was called "THE CALEDONIA CABINET WORKS". It soon made its presence felt and became one of the major centres in the town.

Another firm which came into existence was that of Stevenson, Higgins & Co. This firm operated for four years from the "BONNIE DOON" in the centre of the town before they moved to larger premises which were called the "JANEFIELD WORKS". These places were all successful but after a time only three remained and these were Balfour Ltd; Matthew Pollock; and Stevenson, Higgins & Co. The others all closed down for various reasons, although several years later two new firms came into existence, and these were the McNeil brothers of the "AYRSHIRE CABINET WORKS", who had originally started in the neighbouring town of Dalry, but had moved to Beith in 1910, and Wilson & Wood of "Braehead", who opened in 1920.

Introduction of Trade Unions

Shortly after the factory system had started, trade unions came into existence. The workers had banded together and selected representatives who would look after their interests with regard to wages, hours and conditions. This culminated in the employers setting Up) their own association which met with the trade unions to discuss various grievances with them.

At intervals the trade unions would demand improvements in conditions of work. Many of these cases were ended amicably, while others were not ended in such an amicable fashion which resulted in stoppages of 7-10 days on occasions.

In the year 1898 the furniture industry in Beith suffered its worst setback. The workers submitted several demands that were refused by the employers. One of these demands was for the abolition of piecework which had been abused in several factories, and an in-crease in wages.

This dispute resulted in a long drawn-out struggle between the workers and their employers, during which the workers withdrew their labour and called a strike that lasted ten months. Feelings had begun to run high over these months and both sides had to climb down before an agreement was finally reached. During the time of the dispute many highly trained tradesmen left the town for other centres in Scotland, England, and Ireland. With their skilled knowledge of the co-operation between bench and machine, they were able to open up new fields of competition against Beith. This new threat had to be faced and defeated if Beith wanted to regain its position as the leader of the furniture industry in Scotland.

Types of Furniture Produced

For this to happen there had to be changes in direction and the principle features of these changes were in the design and con-struction of the furniture.

Up to this time it had been the practice to follow the trend in "PERIOD FURNITURE" which included "JACOBEAN", "WILLIAM AND MARY", "QUEEN ANN", "CHIPPENDALE", "SHERATON", "HEPPLEWHITE", etc. In many cases these were very heavy pieces of furniture and the amount of timber used in their manufacture often made these pieces clumsy in appearance and weight. This was where the designers of Beith went about their task in the right manner; they went about reducing the thickness of the materials used which gave a finer line and brought their construction up-to-date.

It was at times like these that the value of Beith trained workmen became apparent. It was not only the designers who played their part but also the machine-men and benchmen who asserted themselves in their efforts to regain their firm hold on the market for the highest grade of furniture.

Changes in the Manufacture of Furniture

Another factor that changed the manufacture of furniture happened about 1924. The post war desire for a change from Victorian values caused further changes to be made in the design and construction of furniture, these changes were typical of most post-war changes, aiming at beauty with simplicity.

Due to this fact mouldings were done away with, although not completely, and an example of where this may be found is on modern wardrobes, which have no heavy or overhanging cornice mouldings of old, the only thing that had a very light cornice were the doors. Corresponding change also took place on such articles as sideboards which no longer had mirrored backs, and the tops

receded instead of projecting. Also elaborate carving and foot work received a blow because they had the tendency to collect dust. The same objection was raised on the mouldings found on such articles as the Jacobean style of furniture, the hygiene idea was taken even further and instead of making furniture without legs, legs were added so that the floor un-derneath might be kept clean.

Introduction of Veneers

her means of decoration had to be found to replace the mouldings. At this time the use of veneers in the furniture trade had been considered questionable, because veneers had been used by some to cover up cheap woods. A new method of using veneers was introduced, this was by the tainting and contrasting of the veneers with the wood so that beautiful effects could be obtained. This would not have been nearly so successful if not for the great improvements in the quality of glue available and the installation of large presses for the laying of the veneers.

A visit to the factories of Beith in those days was well worth while. This was because the visitor would be able to follow the development of the furniture from the log to the finished article. The factories used to receive the wood in planks but as the machinery became more advanced they began to bring it in as logs, which were cut horizontally to the required sizes. The wood was then seasoned and dried, and this was done under expert supervision, as this was one of the most im-portant factors on the preparation of the wood, because badly seasoned wood was the cause of most defects in furniture.

After the seasoning was completed the wood was then ready to be used. But before anything could be achieved there had to be a definite model to work on. This was where the designers came in. By watching all modern tendancies he was able to keep up with current styles. Once the basic model was prepared it was then made ready for the French Polisher to complete the finish. Many women were expert in this task. Women played an important role in the furniture manufacturing industry with skills in the finer work and detailed finishes.

One man completed each article, the reason for this was that mass production had not yet been introduced into the Beith factories. The accuracy of the shades and tones that were achieved in the "polishing shop" had to be seen to be believed. From there they were sent to the "fitting shop" where the handles, glass, mirrors etc, were fitted by men who specialised in that line of work. The furni-ture was then sent to the "packer" (Dispatcher) who had the responsibility of ensuring, with reasonable care, that it reached its destination undamaged. The way in which this was achieved was that the piece of furniture was first covered by paper, then a thick padding of hay or shavings, and then a final covering of sacking.

Transportation

Until 1920 most of the transporting of the furniture was done by rail but it later changed to motor transport which had gradually developed and had come into favour, and a short time later most of the furniture was moved by road. The main reason for the change was that it saved time and labour in the loading and unloading of goods, and meant that the furniture could now be taken directly from the factory to the shop. The conditions of work were still looked affer by the trade unions on one hand and the employers association on the other. There was a meeting of these two bodies held annually and here the wages were fixed for the coming year. The terms of apprenticeship for boys in all cases remained at five years, while girl French Polishers served three and a half years to complete theirs.

The conditions of the Factories Act were all adhered to, with one clause setting the number of holidays allowed per year. These were one week in the summer, three days at New Year, and three days throughout the rest of the year. Disputes with regards to work and conditions were few and this may have been partly due to the respect of the employers for the skills of their workforce.

Exportatition of Beith made Furniture

As has been previously mentioned, Beith furniture was famous far beyond the boundaries of Scotland. To give an idea of its popularity and fame, it was not only the markets of Scotland, England, and Ireland which it supplied, but orders were also obtained from abroad. Some of the foreign countries that placed orders include, Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and even sometimes South America. It was no wonder that the people of Beith were proud of the towns' position and reputation in the furniture trade.

Beith

Some years ago when the furniture trade flourished in the town, the tag 'BEITH MADE' was taken for granted to mean that the furni-ture was of the highest standard in design and craftmanship.

It was this quality of manufacture that brought Beith to the notice of the larger firms of Architects and Government departments, such as the Ministry of Works. The contracts varied from the complete furnishing of a hotel including wall panelling and staircases, to boardroom furniture, mainly tables and chairs. Bank fittings in-cluded counters and desks, libraries with tables, chairs and often wall length fitted bookcases with Astrigal doors which required great skill in manufacture. This is surely evidence that in Beith there were craftsmen with the ability to produce anything that could be made in wood. At this time the Clyde Shipyards were very busy, ships in every berth, and the Beith firms were asked to supply some of the furniture for the bedrooms which usually required a dressing tabje, chest of drawers, bedside commode and dressing stool.

The big firms tended to concentrate on this type of specialist work to supplement domestic furniture manufacturing e.g., McNeil Bros, specialised in board room and library fittings.

Stevenson & Higgins made lift cages, which were fitted in many hotels and department stores.

Beithcraft (BALFOURS) were for a number of years the main manufactures of mantlepieces in Scotland, some were designed in the elegant style, made famous by the ADAM Bros., and required the expert skill of Woodcarvers.

In this connection it is interesting to note that Matthew Pollock Ltd supplied furniture to both the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth II. (at different times of course.)

From my wardrobe door!

Epilogue

Unfortunately furniture is no longer produced in the town due to the closure of the various manufacturing firms. These closures were caused by a multiplicity of problems such as the state of the economy and an inability to compete with self-assembly furniture firms and their increase in popularity. The last big furniture manufacturer to close was Beithcraft (formerly Balfours) which finished in 1983 with the loss of 420 jobs. With this final closure came the end of the Beith reputation for being one of the main furniture manufacturing centres in the country.

 
Produced by
INFORMATI0N PROJECT;
BEST SCOTLAND 2000 Ltd,
CALEDONIA HOUSE,
KILWINNING.
TEL.(0294) 58658 EXT215
Booket compi1ed by Donald Simpson McCorquodale
With special thanks to Mr SC Jamieson