The Mill

I stopped to take this picture overlooking the village of Neilston when I was on my way to a friend's house on the Fereneze Braes, just before the torrential rain. Three of us were travelling down to Irvine to deliver some paintings, although none of mine on this occasion. We also had a nice lunch!

The urbanisation and development of Neilston came largely with the Industrial Revolution. Industrial scale textile processing was introduced to Neilston around the middle of the 18th century with the building of several cotton mills. Neilston became a centre for cotton and calico bleaching and printing in the 18th century, which developed into a spinning and dying industry, and continued into the early 20th century. Some of my ancestors were involved in working in the mills.
One of the remaining mills from the Barrhead and Neilston industry can be seen in the centre of the picture.