Interior. View of cast-iron roof trusses and columns with gothic shaped wooden infills in central section of top floor of main building. Digital image of A 38495

Description Interior. View of cast-iron roof trusses and columns with gothic shaped wooden infills in central section of top floor of main building. Digital image of A 38495

Date 3/1986

Catalogue Number SC 787417

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 38495

Scope and Content Cast-iron roof trusses and columns on central floor of the Tay Works, No 2 Lochee Road, Dundee This is a detail of the central section of the top floor of the seven-bay-wide central building, which linked the two mills, built in 1851 and 1863-4. The central building, which also dates to 1863-4, has fireproof cast-iron roof trusses and columns. To the top right there are cast-iron columns which have Gothic-shaped wooden infills. The roof itself was also Gothic in shape, and according to Watson, such a style of roof was ideal for textile work, as the room was much lighter than one with a flat roof. The jute industry in Dundee was dependent on low-paid women workers. As a result of this there were fewer employment opportunities for men. In the early 20th century, in much of Scotland it was thought that women should stop work when they married, but in Dundee the opposite view prevailed and women who did not work were thought of as lazy. The Tay Works in Lochee Road, Dundee, began as a business in 1849 when the Gilroy Brothers bought several mills from a bankrupt flax spinner. The works was extended further with the building of other mills and factories between 1851 and 1881. By 1877 Gilroy Sons & Co was the second biggest jute manufacturer in the world. By the 1970s the jute industry had declined, and in 1986 much of the Tay Works was converted into student residences. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/787417

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap