Paisley, 68 High Street, Museum, Art Gallery And Library, Loom Gallery

An HES photographic and video survey of a handloom in Paisley Museum. Dan Coughlan, curator of textile machinery at Paisley Museum, explains the 'plain' hand loom using a 19th century example in the Museum collections in a series of video clip along with photographic stills.

Used for weaving simple fabrics with simple structures, the plain loom was the typical loom in use throughout 19th century Europe. This example shows the final development of the handloom (partially automated, manually operated) prior to the introduction of the power loom (greater automation, non-manual power source) which allowed the upscaling of textile production within the factory system.

Visited by HES Survey and Recording Section, Heritage Directorate (MMD), July 2016.