The Arts - Na h-Ealain

A History of Harris Tweed by Scott Hatton - An Clò Hearach

The weaving of woollen cloth has been a domestic activity throughout the Highlands and Islands for many centuries. Rents were often paid in blankets or plaiding, though the cloth was mainly produced for the immediate household. In the early years of last century, the estate of Harris came into the ownership of the Earls of Dunmore, the first non-native proprietors. The waving skills of two sisters, from Strond in South Harris, came to the notice of the Countess of Dunmore. Known as the 'Paisley Sisters', they had both received training of weaving at Paisley and were thus able to produce cloth of a higher quality than that of her neighbours, which the Countess was quick to realise had a significant market potential. However, production of cloth had to be sufficient to meet the demand, and she sent some young Harris girls to the Scottish mainland for training in the weaving of intricate patterns. In this small way the Harris Tweed industry was started. Initially the customers were in the top income bracket, always on the lookout for cloth which could withstand much wear in outdoor activities as they hunted, fished and shot on their estates. But it was not long before other customers were eager to have garments made of the hard-wearing tweed.

The popularity of the cloth grew to such proportions that demand often outstripped supply, and other islands began to take an active part. About 1877 South Uist tweeds found their way to the London market. Lewis, however was conspicuous by its absence for some years until, slowly, Lewis weavers turned to the loom, though their cloth was called Harris Tweed to take advantage of the cachet which the Harris cloth had so successfully exploited.

There were problems. All the processes involved in making the cloth were hand-done, from washing and dying the wool to carding, spinning, warping, weaving and then finishing. By the turn of the century it was obvious that, to keep up with the demand, some of the processes had to be carried out by machines. The first process to receive attention was carding. This was a slow task and extremely tiring. In 1900 a carding mill was erected at Tarbert, Harris, with machinery powered by water. Three years later another carding mill was built in Stornoway and both facilities not only eliminated a bottleneck in production but actually increased demand. This was catered for by introducing spinning mills in the island. Later, other processes were added to ensure the consistent quality of the product. While all this was going on, the cloth was, as it is today, still woven by crofters in their own homes.

Over the decades it is Stornoway which has emerged as the centre of the Harris Tweed industry with the bulk of the cloth being woven by Lewis crofters. A small amount of cloth is still woven in Harris and elsewhere by more traditional methods. A mill at Shawbost on the west side of Lewis, which started operations in 1915 in a very small way, now employs about 40 people and is the largest industrial operation of its kind in the whole of the Western Isles, outside Stornoway.

The weavers are classed as self-employed and are thus dependant on the aggressive selling techniques of the mills and the Harris Tweed Association, which have won markets for Harris Tweed all over the world. Inevitably, as fashions change, so does the demand for cloth fluctuate. Even allowing for this, the industry has pplayed a vital role in the economy of Lewis in particular. There are about 750 weavers at present, with the spinning and finishing mills employing some 350 people. Over 80 percent of the cloth is exported - with the Queen's Award to Industry coming to Lewis a number of times in recent years.

The important point must be made that, though the initial and finishing processes are carried out by the mills, every single web of cloth is woven by crofter- weavers in their own homes. Were it not so, the cloth and its Orb trade mark would not be protected by law and many imitations would appear on the market, thus placing a risk a vital island industry.