Calton weavers

The Calton weavers were a community of handweavers established in the village of Calton just outside Glasgow in the late 18th century. In 1787 the weavers went on strike. Troops opened fire on the demonstrators and six weavers were killed. In the early 19th century, many of the weavers emigrated to Canada, settling in Carleton Place and other communities in eastern Ontario, where they continued their trade.

History

In the 18th century, Calton (no 'r') was a a village outside of Glasgow. It was set up as a weaving village outside of Glasgow because it was beyond the reach of the Glasgow weavers craft guild (union).{{fact} On 23 February 1725 an agreement was recorded between the weavers of Glasgow and the weavers of Carlton and Blackfaulds to regulate and control the industry, to ensure good standards of craftmanship and to prevent destructive competition. In the late eighteenth century, the weavers were famous for their clubs or friendly societies. The Calton book club was composed mainly of weavers and warpers, while other clubs had more overtly political aims.

Over a period of time between 1760 and 1830 there was also the Lowland Clearances going on. Farms were taken over and labourers fled to the cities to find work...usually in the mills. Life was hard, poverty and disease and desperation were rife.

In 1787 there was a massive strike in Calton by about 7000 weavers. During a demonstration at Drygate Bridge on the 3rd of September 1787, soldiers were sent in and six of the strikers were killed. This was the earliest major industrial dispute in Scottish history, and the Calton Weavers became Scotland's first working-class martyrs. In the summer of 1787, the journeymen weavers of the Calton started to agitate for a wage increase. The dispute grew bitter, with the strikers cutting the webs from the looms of weavers who continued to work at the old rate, and making bonfires in the street from the contents of warehouses. On the 3rd of September the city magistrates, with a force of officers, went to the Carlton but were driven back by the mob. A detachment of the 39th Regiment marched, and a pitched battle occured at Parkhouse, in Duke Street. The riot act was read, and a volley of musket fire killed three of the weavers and injured others. Further disturbances were quickly supressed by the troops.

In October 1800 there were food riots in Calton. In 1816 a soup kitchen established in Calton led to a riot that again had to be put down by troops. By the 1830s the Calton handloom weavers were among the most destitute of the skilled working class. Not just men but women and children worked the looms in their struggle to survive. During the frequent depressions of that period, many were forced to pawn their bedding and clothes to avoid starvation. Powerloom factories threatened the weavers. In 1816 two thousand rioters tried to destroy such factories in Calton, and stoned the workers.

Although women had long worked as weavers, journeymen weavers regarded women as comeptition. In 1810 the Calton association of weavers had moved that no new female apprentices could be taken except from the weaver's own families. In June 1833, male cotton spinners struck against female spinners at Dennistoun's mill in Calton, using violent means to drive them from the workplace.}

Migration

Many emigration societies were formed by the Scottish weaver communities, asking for government assistance to emigrate. The government provided free land in the Rideau Valley, a strategically important part of Upper Canada where the government was anxious to settle loyal Scots. Nearly three thousand people were helped to emigrate in 1820 and 1821, founding the Lanark Settlements in what is now Lanark County to the north of Perth, Ontario. One wonders why they named the place they arrived at for the awful place they left! However Carleton Place (now with an 'r' and an 'e') and many other names from Scotland set up along the Rideau and the small lake area north of Kingston. Many more went on to areas near Kingston and into Peterborough.

In popular culture

The Calton Weavers massacre of 1787 is commemorated in a panel by Scottish artist Ken Currie in the People's Palace, Glasgow, commissioned on the 200th anniversary of the event. The song The Calton Weaver is a variant of Nancy Whiskey which first appeared in print in the early 1900s. The Scottish folksinger Nancy Whiskey took her name from the song, and it has been recorded by many other artists. The song tells of a Calton weaver who spent his life savings on Whisky. The song ends with a solemn caution:

Come all ye weavers, Calton weavers
A' ye weavers where'er ye be
Beware of whiskey, Nancy Whiskey
She'll ruin you as she ruined me.

External links

• "Hamish Imlach - The Calton Weaver/Nancy Whiskey". Retrieved 2010-02-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |wwork= ignored (help)