Arbroath, Millgate, Alma Works
Sailcloth Factory (18th Century)
Site Name Arbroath, Millgate, Alma Works
Classification Sailcloth Factory (18th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Arbroath, Millgate, Flax Mill; Webster's Flax Textile Mill; Catherine Street; Francis Webster & Sons Ltd
Canmore ID 35618
Site Number NO64SW 56
NGR NO 6401 4091
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/35618
- Council Angus
- Parish Arbroath And St Vigeans
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Angus
- Former County Angus
NO64SW 56.00 6401 4091.
NO64SW 56.01 NO 640 409 Well
(Location cited as NO 642 409). Mill, Millgate, mid 19th century. A 3-storey and attic, 4- by 9-bay main block, with a 2-storey, 2-bay engine house at one end, a 10-bay range of single-storey weaving sheds, and two 3-storey office blocks, one 3-bay, the other 5.
J R Hume 1977.
Publication Account (2013)
Francis Webster was established in 1795 and wove sailcloth and tarpaulins, starting bleaching in 1802. A ranch in Texas owned by Sir Francis Webster had, it was reported in 1919, 1000 head of cattle wrapped in his hemp blankets. The firm was until 1992 the last large-scale linen manufacturer in Scotland. Alma Works was built in 1856 for power loom weaving, named after the Crimean War battle. The weaving sheds are demolished. A three-storey fireproof building of c.1871 has been converted to flats by Hillcrest H A (47 homes in total, 1997-8). The ground floor was for dyeing. Its column-free second floor is suspended from the timber roof, which has new dormer windows.
M Watson, 2013