Former High Tweed Mill and The Pirns, King Street

King Street · Category C, HES reference LB50697

The surviving ranges of Tweed Mill recall Galashiels’ first factory powered entirely by steam and preserve an unusually important chapter in the technological development of the town’s woollen industry.

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026

Quick Facts

Why It Matters

Tweed Mill marks a decisive shift from dependence on the mill lade to steam power. Its history explains how coal, the railway and new engineering methods allowed Galashiels’ textile production to expand beyond the limits imposed by available water power.

The Story

Water power shaped the early geography of Galashiels’ mills, but it was finite. By the middle of the nineteenth century the available fall on the mill lade was already heavily used. Peter and Robert Sanderson responded by building Tweed Mill in 1852 as the first Galashiels factory driven entirely by steam.

The plans were prepared by Randolph, Elder & Co. of Glasgow, who also installed the shafting. The decision was technologically bold. Steam was considered expensive, yet it freed the new works from the location and capacity of the lade. The railway, opened through Galashiels in 1849, made coal and raw materials easier to obtain and helped create the conditions for wider adoption of steam power.

The original complex changed repeatedly. HES describes the surviving spinning-mill range as around 1860 and The Pirns, a multi-storey weaving mill, as around 1875. These buildings were set at an angle following King Street and were once linked at first-floor level, probably allowing power to pass between them. Cast-iron tie plates relate to tension rods in composite beams designed to span wider floors and resist vibration from power looms.

Production and storage uses evolved with the fortunes of the industry. Wright and Jobson arrived in 1907 before moving to Bristol Mill in 1921. Parts of the complex later housed wool brokers, dyeworks and garment manufacture. Small-scale garment production continued until 1989 and finishing until about 1996.

RCAHMS photographed the complex in 1998 when demolition was proposed and its extent was uncertain. In 2003 the long 1852 range was demolished, while surviving later ranges were converted to housing. The result is both a loss and an example of adaptive reuse. What remains cannot show the full scale of the original works, but it preserves the technological story in substantial built form.

Things to Notice

• The multi-storey form needed to organise powered textile production.
• Projecting stair towers on the surviving main range.
• The long, repetitive window pattern.
• Cast-iron tie plates at floor levels on The Pirns.
• The angle between the ranges as they follow King Street.
• Evidence of conversion to housing alongside retained industrial masonry.

Timeline

• 1849: Railway reaches Galashiels, improving access to coal and materials.
• 1852: Tweed Mill begun for Peter and Robert Sanderson; first fully steam-powered mill in the town.
• c.1860: Surviving main spinning-mill range dated by HES.
• c.1875: The Pirns weaving mill built.
• 1907: Wright and Jobson move into the mill.
• 1989: The Pirns converted to housing; small-scale garment production ends.
• 1998: RCAHMS records the complex before proposed demolition.
• 2003: Original 1852 range demolished; surviving ranges retained and converted.

Significance Scores

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

Notes and Uncertainties

The name High Tweed Mill is used both for the wider complex and for its surviving principal range. The 1852 foundation date belongs to the original works, much of which was demolished in 2003; HES dates the main surviving ranges to about 1860 and about 1875.

Image and Licence Notes

The principal photograph was taken by Victuallers and is reused from Wikimedia Commons under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Follow the image link for the original file, full attribution and reuse terms. The photograph shows a surviving later range, not the demolished original 1852 range.

Related Places

• Bristol Mill
• Botany Mill and High Mill
• Gala Mill Lade and Round Tree Bridge

Sources

• Historic Environment Scotland, LB50697: Former Tweed Mill, Main Range and The Pirns
• Trove/NRHE place record 54373: Tweed Mill
• Robert Hall, The History of Galashiels (1898), pp. 385-86, cited in the NRHE record.
• John R. Hume, The Industrial Archaeology of Scotland, 1: Lowlands and Borders (1976), p. 240, cited by HES and NRHE.