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The tanning of leather, which was ancillary to the shoe
trade, also flourished during the period from the 1850s
to the l960s and originally some of the [shoe] factories
had their own tanneries. These were, however, finally
replaced by one large tannery at Ladywell which was
owned by the Millar Tanning Co. Ltd. This company took
over the buildings (which had been erected by John Gray)
when the Ladywell Tannery & Shoe Co. failed in the first
decade of this century and started the Ladywell Tannery
with 45 employees. The company prospered and continued
in business until May 1969 when once again the march of
time and the change to the method of making shoes with
materials other than leather forced it to close down and
the last link with the old leather trade was swept away.
(From Maybole, Carrick's Capital by James T Gray) |
