Old Photographs High Street Kirkcaldy Fife Scotland

Old photograph of shops, horses and carts and people on the High Street in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. For most of the 19th century, the main industries in the town were flax spinning and linen weaving. In 1847 a canvas manufacturer, Michael Nairn, took out a licence on Frederick Walton's patent for the production of floorcloth, and opened a factory in nearby Pathhead. When the patent expired in 1876, Nairn and other floorcloth manufacturers began the manufacture of linoleum. Production of both floorcloth and linoleum occupied seven factories in the town by 1883, employing 1,300 people.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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