Former Engineering Workshop and House, Roxburgh Street and Union Street

Mid-19th to early 20th century · 12-14 Roxburgh Street and Union Street · Category C listed, LB32008

A rare surviving small engineering works associated with Robert Herbert and Sons, showing the specialist trades that kept the textile town's machinery and buildings working.

Last reviewed: 22 July 2026

Robert Herbert and Sons gate at the former engineering workshop in Galashiels — The named entrance gate and part of the former engineering workshop. Photograph: Walter Baxter / Robert Herbert and Sons gate / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Quick Facts

Date / main phases	Mid-19th to early 20th century
Location	12-14 Roxburgh Street and Union Street
Building or site type	Engineering workshop, yard and house
Designation	Category C listed, LB32008
Architect or designer	Not identified
Current use	Later office use recorded; present occupancy not verified
Public access	Exterior visible from public streets; working yard is private

Why It Matters

Textile history is not only a story of mills. Engineers, smiths and repair workshops supplied and maintained the machinery on which production depended. This compact courtyard group is especially valuable because small jobbing engineering works were once common but now survive less readily than the large mills they served.

The Story

The complex developed in stages between the middle nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. HES considers the house to predate the workshop, showing how a domestic property and later industrial accommodation became combined within a constrained urban site.

The principal workshop is a two-storey, seven-bay range arranged around a courtyard. Three large semicircular arches gave access for materials, machinery and vehicles, while the multi-pane upper windows admitted light to working floors.

The site is associated with Robert Herbert and Sons. The surviving gate carrying the firm's name provides unusually direct evidence of business identity in the streetscape and helps connect the building with the people who worked there.

Such workshops undertook varied engineering and repair work rather than a single mass-produced item. Their flexibility was essential in a manufacturing town, where mills required continual maintenance, alterations and specially made components.

Later conversion to office use preserved the broad form of the group. The building's importance lies in the survival of house, workshop, yard and boundary elements together, allowing the scale and organisation of a smaller industrial enterprise to remain understandable.

Things to Notice

The three large semicircular workshop arches
Rows of multi-pane upper windows
The enclosed courtyard arrangement
The surviving Robert Herbert and Sons gate
The contrast between the earlier house and later industrial ranges

Significance Scores

Criterion	Score	Reason
Architectural interest	4 / 5	A coherent courtyard workshop with expressive arches and industrial glazing.
Historical importance	4 / 5	Documents engineering trades supporting the textile economy.
Social significance	4 / 5	Represents skilled industrial labour outside the major mills.
Rarity	5 / 5	Small urban jobbing works survive less commonly than large factories.
Townscape contribution	4 / 5	The arches, yard entrance and house give character to the street junction.

Scores follow the published significance-scoring methodology. They are interpretive judgements, not statutory designations.

Timeline

Mid-19th century – the earlier house is established
Later 19th century – engineering workshop ranges develop
Early 20th century – the complex reaches its recorded form
Later 20th century – office conversion is recorded
Today – the courtyard group remains a rare small-scale industrial survivor

Notes and Uncertainties

The designation spans a broad sequence rather than a single construction date. The Robert Herbert and Sons association is secure, but a detailed business chronology has not yet been established. Current use should be confirmed before making access or occupancy claims.

Image and Licence Notes

Walter Baxter’s 2008 photograph is reused through Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 2.0. It concentrates on the named gate and adjoining fabric rather than showing the full workshop group.