| This article was written and contributed by J. Murray Cook with illustrations from ‘The Kingdom of Carrick and its Capital’ by John Latta and William Millar, 1904. |
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St Cuthbert's Shoe Factory A Mr. Willie Cook had a small factory at the corner of St. Cuthbert’s and Kirkland Street. He joined with Charles Crawford to open the Kirkwynd factory. Mr. Cook left the partnership and the firm became Robert Crawford & Sons, building up a good business in Ireland which practically came to an end with the establishment of the Irish Free State and the factory closed in the 1930’s.
Kirkwind Boot & Shoe Factory St. Helen’s Works were opened by a Mr. Devlin who was succeeded by a Mr. Boyd. A Mr. James McReath who lost his job in 1907 started for himself in a garden hut at Redbrae by the old goods station and helped by his family in the evenings he gradually built up a business and a reputation for quality. He moved into the St. Helen’s Works just after the First World War and closed in 1968. |
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For more on boot and shoemaking in Maybole see Maybole's Shoe Factories , John Lees & Co. Limited Shoe Factory, Our Shoe Factories by Rev. R. Lawson, A Day in the Life of a Shoe Factory Worker, When Maybole Had Boot Power by Edwin Lawrence and Dick Goudie: Last of the Maybole shoemakers. |
