Hard at work or hardly working? Four female employees of Templeton’s Carpets are pictured in their Bridgeton factory in 1953, producing a world-renowned product. Born in Campbeltown in 1802, founder James Templeton started life as a draper before perfecting his craft for carpets.
Collaborating with an Irish weaver named William Quiglay, Templeton adapted chenille (a material more commonly used for shawls and curtains) into a base for soft yet strong carpets. Armed with a patent and a winning formula, Templeton established his Templeton & Sons carpet factory in the Bridgeton area of Glasgow in 1839 – with even the wife of US president Abraham Lincoln said to have a Templeton carpet in her home. A visually striking new factory – modelled on Doge’s palace in Venice – was built in 1889 in the later-renamed Templeton Street at Glasgow Green.
As the building became a local landmark, Templeton’s went from strength to strength, with the employees here pictured at what would have been a golden time for the company. Yet in 1969, Templeton’s takeover of rival company Grays of Ayr proved a tough financial strain on the business, made worse by a downturn in the textile industry across the latter half of the 20th century. After being taken over themselves in 1981, Templeton’s famous factory closed soon afterwards, now serving as a business and residential centre and a home to the West Brewery.
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