Bringing the Page to Life
Timeline
World Timeline
1590 First known London performance of Shakespeare plays
1611 The first King James Bible was published
1666 The Great Fire of London
1692 The Glencoe Massacre
1707 Union of the Scottish and English Crowns
1712 Invention of the first steam engine
1715 Jacobite Rebellion
1753 The British Museum is established
1759 Robert Burns is born
1775 - 1783 The American War of Independence
1790 The Forth / Clyde Canal opened
1800 Highland Clearances
1805 Battle of Trafalgar: Nelson defeats the Napoleonic Fleet
1832 Reform Act began the move towards universal suffrage
1837 Queen Victoria ascended to the throne
1870 Education Act (1872 Scotland) ensured elementary education for all
1893 Forth Road Bridge opens
1901 Independent Labour Party was formed
1903 Marconi makes his first transatlantic airwave transmission of a message in morse code
1903 The campaign for women's suffrage intensifies with the formation of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)
1914 - 1918 First World War
1918 Representation of the People Act: Women allowed to vote if over 30 years old and allowed to become MPs
1929 The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression
1939 - 1945 World War II
1946 Formation of the National Health Service
1952 Queen Elizabeth II comes to the throne
1956 The Suez Crisis
1957 The Treaty of Rome was signed to form the EEC (European Economic Community)
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
1963 Assassination of John F Kennedy / Great Train Robbery
1964 Winston Churchill dies
1969 Concorde makes its first flight
1970 Voting age reduced from 21 years to 18 years old
1978 First ever test tube baby Louise Joy Brown in born
1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister
1981 Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer marry
1984 Miners strike begins in Scotland and quickly spreads throughout the UK / Band Aid single highlights famine in Ethiopia
1989 Tiananmen Square Uprising
Timeline Water of Leith
1590 Dalry became the site of the first papermill in Scotland
1653 Waulk Mill at Colinton (Kate’s Mill) began operation. This mill ran until roughly 1868
1659 Canonmills started producing paper
1675 Alex Daes took over at Dalry Mill as papermaker and secured the monopoly of manufacturing paper.
1682 Upper Spylaw began producing paper. Changed to a snuff mill in 1765 and then a dairy. It later became a riding school. Canonmills. Peter Bruce obtained a monopoly for playing card manufacture and was made King’s printer in 1682. He was sued by Alex Daes over the monopoly and subsequently Daes destroyed the mill.
1717 Bogs Mill / Vernours Mill. There had been a mill on this site since 1598 and it was converted to a paper mill in 1717. The mill was producing bank notes by 1735. 1783 the mill closed when the owner moved to Kate’s Mill. 1816 – 1924 the mill was used as a snuff, grain and spice mill.
1770 Balerno Mill at Kinauld founded and began producing paper
1792 Kinleith mill first began to produce paper. A mill had existed on this site since 1677, but Woodhall started production of paper in 1792.
1799 West Colinton mill started to produce paper. It closed in 1872, but re-opened 1884 and was making casings and thin papers. The mill closed again in 1905 and then taken over by Scott’s porridge oats in 1909
1805 Balerno Bank Mill began production making printings, tea and grey paper.
1819 Byrnie Mill, Currie a 1 vat papermill was started which produced tea and grey papers. Converted into a saw mill in 1905.
1825 Townhead mill began producing tea and grey papers. Was later incorporated into Balerno Bank and by 1842 it was being used as a storehouse for rags.
1836 Portobello Mill converted from a flax mill to a papermill making Browns, 1889 changed to printing paper.
1838 Mossy Mill / Wester Waulk Mill. Cloth beetled at mill before 1838 when converted to a papermill. 1916 – 1972 browns were produced
1844 Henry Bruce and Sons bought Kinleith Mill
1870 Balerno Branch Railway received an act of enablement.
1874 Balerno Branch Railway opens
1875 A railway siding was built at Kinleith Mill. Balerno Mill at Kinauld burned down. It opened again but closed in 1882. It was later used as a glue works and presently as a tannery
1879 A railway siding is built at Kate’s papermill
1889 A railway siding is built at Mossy Mill
1909 Balerno Bank Mill burned down. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1912.
1925 Balerno Bank was bought by John Galloway and Sons
1928 Kinleith Mill was absorbed into Inveresk. Was producing esparto featherweights.
1936 Woodhall Mill enlarged and now making Browns and duplex wrappings.
1937 Galloways the first firm on the Water of Leith to call in a works study firm British Bedaux.
1938 Galloways started to operate under licence the American Champion process.
1939 The papermaking industry fell under the jurisdiction of paper control.
1954 Woodhall absorbed into Inveresk
1957 Woodhall was entirely rebuilt to house a multiple vat board mill.
1966 Woodhall moved to a continuous 4 shift system to cope with increased demand (the mill would never shut, people would work on shifts so the mill was kept open all the time) Kinleith was closed. 220 people made redundant. Due to Inveresk rationalisation program, small mills no longer economically viable.
1971 Galloways closed down. 300 made redundant.
1984 Woodhall closed, 69 people made redundant. Last papermill to work on Water of Leith.
1989 Inglis Mill closes. Last papermill to work on Water of Leith.