The Whale Sisters - Earlston's Renowned Gingham Manufacturers

The names of the Whale sisters, Christian and Marion,  were once synonymous 
with textile production in Earlston.

In the 18th century, Rhymer's  Mill  was  a corn mill before being transformed by the Whale family into a textile mill where  the  manufacture of gingham was introduced by Thomas Whale.    

A carved inscription on the old mill building, 

with  the names C & M Whale clearly visible today. 

The 1891 publication "Two Centuries Of Border Church Life V2   - with Biographies Of Leading Men And Sketches Of The Social Condition Of The People On The Eastern Border",  by James Tait, includes a paragraph  on the Whale Family. 

"Thomas Whale died on the 11th March 1814, aged 74 years; and his widow died two years afterward; but the business was carried on with great skill and success by their daughters, Christian was the elder, and was a very clever woman, but she modestly gave the first place to her younger sister Marion and the designation of the firm was "Marion Whale Co," The gingham was manufactured of cotton and the weaving was done in private houses; in some of which there was a factory containing twenty or thirty looms. The colours were woven into the cloth, not printed as is now generally done; and everything was of the best material One of the sisters travelled to Edinburgh, along the Northumberland coast and even to London, which was very inaccessible in those days."

Two surviving examples of the Earlston Gingham  in the collection of Auld Earlston.

Contemporary press cuttings indicate how widespread was the reputation of Earlston Ginghams.    In the 1840's "The Morning Post" in London carried regular advertisements for the cloth.  The Scotch Tartan Warehouse in Regent Street promised:  

"The Paris Fashions for the Present Season .........[with] Marion Whale's real Earlston  Ginghams".  (23rd October 1843).  

Queen Victoria's tour of Scotland led to a demand for all things Scottish,  as the advertisement of 23rd September 1844 below highlights, with a reference to:
 

"Her Majesty's Tour of Scotland  and approval of the different manufacturers. especially of Plaids, has caused them to be the  fashionable article of dress for the approaching season".........Stock includes "the celebrated Marion Whale's Earlston Ginghams (this establishment being exclusive for the sale of  that article). "

 Rutherfurd’s 1866 Directory of the Southern Counties, published in Kelso,   commented

 “Earlston produces quantities of the Earlston ginghams. There is no other place in the country where the same class of gingham is made”.

Back in Earlston, the 1851 Census identified Christian  Whale as a 64 year old "manufacturer of gingham and cotton, employing 60 workers, mainly weavers and winders of cotton". Also in the business was her sister Marion aged 56.   

Ten years on in 1861 Christian, age given as 74  and Marion 66, were both described as Gingham Manufacturers, living at 125 Main Street, Earlston (a ten room property) with their older brother Andrew, a former clerk in a drapery warehouse, two domestic servants and a stable boy. 

But nine months later,  Christian Whale died 22nd  January 1862. aged 75.    

"The Kelso Chronicle" of 24th January 1862 noted that "Miss Whale, well known throughout the  greater part of this country, departed this life after a tedious illness........Miss Whale was a person of most active habits and of a shrewd and vigorous understanding;  qualities which account in great measure for her extraordinary success in life".

 "The Southern Reporter" of 30th January  giving a fulsome obituary,  referred to her:

 "stern but invariably kind disposition ....her business habits, her untiring perseverance, her successful career..... At one time the firm employed little short of 100 weavers, who in turn required no inconsiderable number of female winders. ......Miss Whale attending herself to the most minute particulars as well as transactions   of greater magnitude;   she allowed no object, however trifling,  to pass without her inspection and approval;  her presence was everywhere, now superintending the warping, now the finishing, now giving direction for the packing bales of goods for the London and American markets;  behind the counter supplying a single dress to a customer;  all her multitudinous duties being done with characteristic energy and promptitude.  The funeral took place on Monday and a very large attendance of townspeople and a number from  the surrounding district turned out  to testify their respect for her memory."

Southern Reporter 30th January 1862

 "The Berwickshire News" later commented on " Miss Christian Whale (Kirsty in the vernacular)  was a woman of masculine understanding and highest business capacity...  and had a  life of great activity and usefulness.....she will be long remembered in these parts as a woman of ability and enterprise and one who deserved well of her native place".    

Two years later almost to the day,  sister Marion died 24th January 1864 aged 71.  The business was dissolved, and in February 1864, local newspapers carried front page advertisements on "Valuable Property in Earlston for Sale...Belonging to  the late Misses Christian and Marion Whale".  The mill was sold to the textile firm of Wilson & Sons, and the house property was sold to Mr Smail, agent of the Commercial Bank  for the sum of £700. 

   On the middle right - the former home of the Whale Sisters,  
sold to the Commercial Bank.  

   
The two Whale sisters were ahead of their time and made an enormous contribution to Earlston life.  They were beacons in  mid Victorian Britain when few women showed such enterprising spirit to head successful businesses.  

 Today a street name sign reminds us of the village's past. 

Sources:

Index to British Newspapers 1710-1953  

Scotlands People 

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In  Case You Missed - Read About Other Earlston Worthies:  

• Earlston's Posties of the Past
  
• Fire at John Wallace, Joiner's
• Isabel Wallace - Friend & Benefactor
• John MacKenize - Banker and Man of Many Parts 
• Thomas Gray - Gingham Tam
  
  
  
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Holiday Time in Earlston

A nostalgic look back at holidays in the past, 

with day trips, camping, and dooking to enjoy.  

Happy choir members from Ercildoune Church on their trip to the Trossachs in 1936.

A 1866 Directory commented that few holidays were held in Earlston,  but by the 1870's local newspapers reported on public meetings held in the Corn Exchange to decide on a date for the Annual Holiday and  to arrange special excursion trains. 

 - Berwickshire News and General Advertiser:  9th July 1889 

A newspaper report of 1909 noted that

"The holiday was observed on Saturday last when all work was suspended and the shops all closed, the bank only  being open from 9 to 11 for the convenience of he public.  There was a railway excursion to Edinburgh with cheap fares to Glasgow Perth, Dundee, Dunfermline, Stirling, Berwick, Hawick, Galashiels (for the agricultural show)  and Jedburgh (for athletic games).  Several spent the day nearer home fishing,  bowling,  and golf at Caldie's Hill, with a golf gymkhana at Melrose popular.  The factory hands also had Monday as a holiday."

By  1935,   people were travelling further afield, "even going as far as Wales, but Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Berwick and Spittal  claimed the majority  of those taking advantage of the cheap railway facilities..  Earlston shopkeepers put  up their shutters from Saturday to Monday inclusive.  Motor buses were also well patronised". 

                      Berwickshire News and General Advertiser:  13th August 1935.

                                                      

 IN THE WATER 

 

Dooking in the Leader Water near Carolside 

UNDER CANVAS

 

ON A DAY TRIP

1907 and  Earlston Parish Church Choir  set  off from the Red Lion Hotel to drivwe to Yarrow Manse.    Hopefully it would be a dry day as there was no protection from the elements?   It is a bit surprising that they did not choose to take the train from Earlston to Selkirk, via Newtown St. Boswells and then by waggonette to Yarrow. 

Day trip to Carlisle 1947

 

A bus trip to St. Andrews, 1948 

Off on the Spittal Trip, c.1960

OUT FOR A QUIET DRIVE

 

 How the A68 road looked c.1930's

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Read the entertaining article  by Inez Polson who shared her memories of the Spittal Trip by Train  in the 1920's.


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Auld Earlston would be delighted to feature short articles

 from contributors on memories of the village's past.    

Please contact:  auldearlston@aol.com  

John Redpath - Earlston Benefactor

        

              The clock above the pharmacy (formerly the Corn Exchange) in the Square 

                                                          is inscribed 

                                    Gift of John Redpath Esq., Montreal
                                 to his native town of Earlston AD1869"

Who was John Redpath?

He was born in Earlston in 1796, and apprenticed as a builder/stonemason to George Drummond in Edinburgh. In 1816 aged 20, he emigrated to Canada, landing in Quebec and walking the 160 miles to Montreal. John soon gained employment in the construction industry, witnessing the first installation of oil street lamps in the city. Within a few years he was able to set up his own company and became involved in prestigious projects that included:

• The construction of the Lachine Canal and locks scheme that proved key to the future commercial development of the city of Montreal, for it allowed large vessels to sail up the St. Lawrence River, and hastened the development of Upper Canada. 
• The building  of the Rideau Canal system (running from Kingston to Ottawa) and which today is classed as a world heritage site.
• The building of the Notre Dame Church,  and McGill University where he was benefactor of the first endowment fund established there.   He is remembered in the university's Redpath Museum and Redpath Library, built by his son.
• He made substantial investments in the Montreal Telegraph company and several insurance companies and  in Canadian mining ventures.
• In 1854 the began the construction of the first sugar refinery in Canada. His seven-storey factory, whose towering smokestack became one of the city’s landmarks, represented an immense investment for John Redpath, the sole owner. Within a year, he had more than 100 employees and was producing 3,000 barrels of refined sugar per month for the Canadian market.

John  built up a  reputation in the Montreal business community and was elected to the board of directors of the Bank of Montreal, the city’s leading financial institution; becoming vice-president, and a large shareholder.

Charitable concerns were at the forefront of his life. He supported Montreal General Hospital, the Montreal Presbyterian College, and the Mechanics’ Institute, all of which he served as a director. He campaigned to fight Montreal’s white slavery traffic and, working through the local Magdalene Asylum, to redeem “unfortunate females, many of whom are poor immigrants who have been decoyed into the abodes of infamy and shame which abound in this city.”

He  was principal founder of the Presbyterian Church of Canada,  helped establish the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge, Presbyterian Foreign Missions, the Labrador Mission, the Sabbath Observance Society, and the French Canadian Missionary Society to which he left a substantial legacy. 

But John Redpath did not forget his place of birth. 

"The Southern Reporter" of 3rd September 1868 reported on a public meeting in  Earlston Reading Room:
 

To formally receive a town clock presented by Mr John Redpath, Esquire of Montreal and to approve a plan of a spire to be added to the Corn Exchange to contain it.

Mr William Shiel was called upon to give a brief outline of Mr Redpath's career, noting that:

"By talent, industry and perseverance a he succeeded in amassing a colossal fortune. He had not forgotten his youthful joys and toils and was anxious to do something for Earlston as a token of remembrance".

The offer of the clock was graciously accepted and It was agreed that a spire or belfry, be constructed above the Corn Exchange to hold the clock, at a cost of £70.

John Redpath died in March 1869.    He had seven children by his first wife, Janet McPhee, whom he married in 1818. Following her death in a cholera epidemic in 1834,  he married Jane Drummond, and they had ten children. 

Berwickshire News:  Death Announcment

The clock given  to Earlston remains a significant landmark in the village today, thanks to the generosity of  John Redpath,
business man, philanthropist and industrial pioneer.

Sources:  
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 
British Newspapers Online 1710-1953
Wikipedia 

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Postscript 
 The Berwickshire News and General Advertiser of 7th February 1939 reported that The spire crashed to the ground just before the final curtain was rung down on the pantomime "Simple Simon" presented in Earlston on Friday night. Spire Crashed to Ground Just befo-e the final curtain was rung down on pantomime Simple Simon,” presented Earlston Friday night,  The spire  smashed the wind screen of one of the many motor cars in waiting, but the car was fortunately unoccupied and no body was near at the time.

                      

In Case You Missed - Read About Other Earlston Worthies:  

• Earlston's Posties of the Past
  
• Fire at John Wallace, Joiner's
• Isabel Wallace - Friend & Benefactor
• John MacKenize - Banker and Man of Many Parts 
• Thomas Gray - Gingham Tam

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Earlston's Posties of the Past

A Look at Posties of the Past 

David Swanston 

In Rutherford's Directory of the Southern Counties, published in 1866, there is an entry for David Swanston, post runner.  We get an account of David's work in an item published in "The Berwickshire News & General Advertiser", 21st June 1902.   It looked looked back at "Melrose Postmen of Olden Days", reprinting an article from "The Kelso Chronicle". 

Berwickshire News & General Advertiser: 17th June 1902

"David Swanson was the runner for Earlston, driving  a pony (called Ben) and a cart.  David's turnout was a regular institution for foot passengers on the route, and on certain days they  were packed  in the vehicle like herring in a barrel.  

On overtaking a passenger on the road, David would announce "If there's no' room the now, we will soon mak' room" and accordingly the passengers had to obey orders and creep closer together.   If on certain occasions, if he was a little jimp [?] for time in the morning, he would  meet the scowl of the postmistress by saying that "Ben had a bad nail in his foot this mornin'".  If he should be late in Melrose  no wonder, when we recall he had to be in there in time to dispatch the letters from Earlston for the first train  in the morning.  This was a time when the railway was in a primitive state, the terminus of the North British being at Hawick.   David stabled at The Ship Inn [in Melrose] and some days would say to his colleagues, "If anyone asks for me, just say I maun board ship for a minute or two, for mercy it was cauld coming over this morning".  In the summer, the excuse for boarding the ship was   "the heat is fair meltin' the day" ."

Clearly David was a well known "character" locally. Census Returns showed him listed in the Earlston Census Returns  as "post runner between Earlston and Melrose", living  with his wife Charlotte and their six children.  He  was still working as a post runner in 1871,  living at 30 Main Street, but died three years later aged 58 and was buried in Earlston Churchyard.  Charlotte, his wife  died in  1877.   A plaque in the church wall sadly records the young deaths of three of their children - Agnes aged 18 months in 1867, son James aged 28 in 1871, and youngest son William died in 1875 aged just  7 years old. 

  Background.

• Earlston  lies  5 miles from Melrose,
• The North British Railway between Edinburgh and Hawick, via Melrose,  opened in 1849, and was not extended to Carlisle until 1862.  So David's memories must precede the completion of the Waverley Line.

James McQuillin 

In the 1881  census, James McQuillin was living with his wife Agnes,  and three children, and was  described as a letter carrier.  Twenty years later in the 1901 census he was listed as a postman and librarian, living at 60 High Street.   He died in 1909 aged 56.  

At the Thorn Corner post box, c.1903

Thomas Burton

 

    Postman Thomas Burton who delivered the post in the 1960's and 70's   

Mary Mather

 

A press cutting from "The Southern Reporter" (unfortunately undated) features a spotlight on "Postie Mary making  the rounds for nigh on 20 years". 

"Hail, rain or shine, Mary and her bike have trundled over hill and dale with letters and parcels. ......until 10 years ago her part-time duties meant a 10 mile daily stint in the countryside.....she recalled the times she carried messages  to farms and the free feed and shelter she received in return.

But in winter, the conditions were against the intrepid postie.  Her bike was no use and she had to plough through drifting snow and howling blizzards.  "During the infamous 1963 winter, I had to walk for 8 miles,"  said Mary,  "Conditions were terrible, with telephone lines cut  off and roads impassable." 

She used to make for Cowdieknowes  Estate, then Cowdieknowes Cottage.  Next stop was Park Farm and Cottages,  and onto the Bungalow at Redpath and Redpath itself.    She retraced her steps, crossed the swing bridge, came up through Sorrowless Field  onto the Melrose Road  and into Earlston. 

Now her round is mainly in Earlston and the uniformed cyclist  is easily recognisable.  She still stops for a blether  and enjoys the exercise.   She is up at 4. 45 each morning getting the house shipshape and and preparing for work at 6.30am".  

A presentation to Mary on her retirement


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Auld Earlston would be delighted to feature short articles

 from contributors on memories of the village's past.    

Please contact:  auldearlston@aol.com