Broadford Works

Another blue sky day ;-)

I've often wondered what these towers, at the end of the street where our son lives, were for, particularly the flat topped one, and today I found out! There was a lunchtime talk at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum and I decided to make the most of being in the town centre by going to it. Coincidently, it was about the Broadford Works. I learnt a lot!

According to the Buildings at Risk Register web site The Broadford Works was .....

The oldest iron-framed mill in Scotland and the fourth oldest known to survive in the world (after others of 1796, 1804 and 1805, all inter- related). ...... Built for Scott Brown and Co (of Angus), 1808, bankrupt 1811 and sold to Sir John Maberly MP, entrepreneur, speculator and introducer of jute to the UK. Maberley rapidly developed Broadford Works, adopting the first gas lighting of an industrial complex in Scotland, by Boulton and Watt in 1814-15, and Scotland's second power loom linen weaving factory in Scotland in 1824. Maberly was himself bankrupt and in 1834 the works passed to Richards and Co, who produced canvas tarpaulins and as a particular specialism, fire hoses. Latterly man- made fibres for carpet yarn etc has replaced flax. Employment peaked at 3,000, once the largest single employer in Aberdeen.

It is thought the 'tall cylindrical concrete tower' was used in the making or testing of hosepipes. There's a wee clip of hosepipes being made on a specially designed cylindrical loom here.

The mill closed finally in 2004 and there are currently plans to develop the site.