Dundee Weavers were also known as Brabeners. This name comes
from the fact that only Weavers from Dundee were allowed to trade with the
Barabent.
The Weavers were so important to the economy of the town of Dundee that it is
surprising that they rank only eighth in the order of precedence of the Trades.
Although the Town Council granted their charter in 1512, there is plenty of
evidence that they were an organised body before that date. The Weavers are the
only one of the Nine Trades of Dundee which has preserved its original Charter
granted by the Provost, Magistrates and Council of Dundee.
The oldest of its four Lockit Books dates back to 1557.Another guide to their
importance, and perhaps with an eye on their influence is shown in the recording
of The High and Mighty Prince John, Duke of Athol who was made a free master on
4th march 1778. On 17th February 1789 the Hon Provost Alex Riddoch was admitted
and on 8th January 1798 Lord Viscount Duncan of Camperdown & Lundie, Admiral of
the Blue was made a Free Master. One wonders if they were required to pass a
trade test like others entering a Craft? Of course the famous Dundee poet
William Topaz McGonegall worked with Thomson & Shepherd and so was a member in
his own right.
In 1601 the convention of Royal Burghs arranged that 12 Flemings be sent from
Leydon to Scotland so that they might teach the natives the Art of Weaving.Three
of them Claus Lossier (shearer), Cornelius Dermis (weaver) and Heurey Turk
(spinner and weaver) were sent to Dundee. The intention was to avoid the export
of Scottish wool to Flanders, which would then be re-exported to Scotland in the
form of woven cloth. It was supposed that by creating a new manufacture here
"ample employment would be provided for idle men".
The Weavers do not always appear to have been the most honest of Trades and were
constantly being investigated, particularly for their habit of producing cloth
that was short of the statutory measurements. In 1667, for example, they were
accused of selling narrow cloth, transgressing an Act of Parliament dated 1661,
which regulated the breadth of linen cloth. The Weavers, having prevaricated for
some considerable time, claimed that they were exceedingly poor persons who
could not pay any fine if one were imposed. They also claimed that they did not
buy or sell yarn. Also that they did not make any cloth for themselves, or for
the market. They supplied only the needs of the inhabitants of Dundee and were
not exporting cloth, i.e. selling it outwith the town. In these circumstances it
did not seem to them that the breadth of the cloth was of any importance. No
punishment was applied. With the advent of jute, and thanks in some respects to
the Crimea War and the American Civil War, with their demand for jute proucts,
Dundee more than doubled its population in a period of some 20 years in the 19th
Century. Such was the demand for labour that many of the dispossessed from the
Highland clearances came for work. Many more from Ireland were shipped across to
the West Coast and brought to Dundee in cattle trucks, where they were put into
ready-made slum dwellings built by the mill owners. One area of the Hilltown was
known as Candle Land because the Gas Company refused to put in gas in case the
occupants committed suicide. Presumably the other saying Lochee and nae lichts
had a similar derivation. Because the demand for workers in the mills was mainly
for women Dundee became a very matriarchal society. The women of Dundee were
reputed to have the most beautiful hair in the whole world. This was because of
the fact that after leaving the mill at night, they would spend so much time
brushing the jute out of their hair.
In complete contrast the mill owners lived mainly in Broughty Ferry, a suburb of
the town which boasted the highest number of millionaires in the world at that
time.
At the height of the jute trade some 40,000 people were employed in the
industry. By the middle of the 20th century this slowly decreased, due to the
development of man-made fibres and the build up of factories in Bangladesh, the
principal source of raw jute. By 1998, there were only 80 people left in the
industry working at Tay Spinners in Arbroath Road.
The last raw jute imported from Bangladesh arrived at Dundee harbour on board
the ship Banglar Urmi on 20th October 1998 and gave work for only some three
Normal; months, after which the only jute to be woven will be at Verdant Works,
a prize winning historic working museum.
A visit to this museum is of interest to every visitor to and to every resident
of Dundee. The present Rules & Regulations of the Craft, adopted 23rd April
1918, opened membership of the craft to any qualified person in Great Britain.
At the opening of the Minute Book of 1875 the craft numbered only 15 members,
although it still collected feu duty from a number of properties. Members
attending the biennial dinner of the Nine Trades were made an allowance of 5/-
each. From 1838 onwards, starting with a total of £ 260, an allocation of
surplus funds was made to each member and widow of the craft. Payments are
recorded to Rob. J. Baxter of Melbourne, Australia; C. E. Walker, Lindula,
Ceylon; Jas. Philip, Johannesburg: and J.C. Walker, Montreal, Canada, all
between 1918 and 1927. This practice continued until 1950 when all it’s surplus
funds were, and are, made over to charity.
By 1998, however, the Weaver Craft was again thriving and, due partly to the
development of man-made fibres and packaging, this ever-changing Craft survived
where the jute trade became extinct. The Weavers of today, although not
personally operating the machinery, are at the forefront of technology and
development. It is precisely this ability to meet ever-changing developments and
a determination to survive that can be traced through all of the Trades in
Dundee. Although still a closed Craft, by 1998 the Weavers had widened its
membership to include Craftsmen connected with developing, spinning, weaving,
maintenance, marketing and selling of textile products. The Craft at that time
had over 70 members and was looking forward to taking an ever increasing and
powerful part in the life of the City of Dundee.
The Weaver’s Prayer
My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me
I do not chose the colours
And he weaveth steadily
Sometimes he weaves in sorrow
And I in foolish pride
Forget he sees the upper
And I the underside
Not till the looms are silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll his canvas
And explain the reason why
Why the dark threads are as needful
In a skillful weavers hand
As those of Gold and silver
In the pattern he has planned.
Anon
Extracts taken from ‘A Short History of the Hammerman Craft of Dundee’
by Innes A. Duffus
Archivist to the Nine Incorporated Trades of Dundee.