General view from North-West. Digital image of AN 4360

Description General view from North-West. Digital image of AN 4360

Date 22/4/1980

Catalogue Number SC 787433

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AN 4360

Scope and Content Bell Mill, North Mill, and Upper Dens Mill of Lower Dens Works and Upper Dens Works, Princes Street, Dundee, from north-west The Lower Dens Works consisted of Bell Mill, North Mill, Dens Mill and St Roque's Mill. The mill in the centre with the bell tower is Bell Mill, which dates to 1866. Built onto the end of this is North Mill which was constructed in 1935. It linked Bell Mill and Dens Mill, which dated to 1865. On the other side of Princes Street, part of the Upper Dens Works can be seen to the left. Known as the Upper Dens Mill, it was partially built in 1833, and extended and heightened in 1851. Upper Dens Mill was used for the spinning of flax. Dundee became a city in the 1880s/1890s, and found its population increase dramatically during the 19th century. Agricultural improvements and mechanisation meant that many people stopped working on the land and came to the cities to look for work. As people did not have to serve apprenticeships to get jobs in the textile mills it is likely many found employment there. The founder of the Baxters company, William Baxter (1766-1854), opened his first mill for spinning flax in 1822 in Lower Dens, Dundee. During the 19th century the company added other buildings to the complex, becoming the biggest manufacturers of linen in the world around 1840. They maintained this position for another 50 years. Due to the demise of the textile trade in Dundee many of the buildings were demolished in the 1980s. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/787433

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap