Melville Mill
Melville Mill was established in about 1760 by John Hutton, an Edinburgh merchant.
1794 the mill was being run by John Pitcairn; bleaching apparatus to whiten the paper was installed by John Hall (of Dartford). This was a very early use of industrial chemistry.
1795 Joshua Gilpin, an American paper manufacturer visiting Britain, described it as a very advanced mill with 5 beaters and 6 vats.
1822 Bankruptcy. 'To The CREDITORS of NASMTTH, POLLOCK, & CO., Stationers In Edinburgh, and Paper-Makers at Melville Mill, and of Alexander Nasmyth, John Brown, and John Pollock, the individual partners of said company...'[1]
1825 A papermaking machine was installed, one of only eight in Scotland at the time. By then, the mill was being operated by Alexander Cowan and Sons
Then sold to Mr Naismith, whose business failed in the 1830s, closing the mill.
1833 Bankruptcy. 'Notice to the Creditors of Nasmyth, Pollock, and Company, Stationers, in Edinburgh, and Paper-Makers, at Melville Mill, and of the Individual Partners of that Company. Edinburgh, January 29, 1833. JOHN SPENCE, Accountant, in Edinburgh, Trustee on the sequestrated estate of the said Company, and on the estates of Alexander Nasmyth, John Brown, and John Pollock, the Partners of said Company...'[2]
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Penicuik Papermaking