Paisley and weaving
Weaving in Paisley was a cottage industry - most of the weavers worked in silk, but were versatile and could also weave cotton, lawn and tweed.
Decorative shawls from Kashmir found their way to the UK thanks to employees of the East India Company. They were highly desirable, but expensive. Paisley weavers found they could make then shawls for a tenth of the price. Paisley shawls remained fashionable from the 1780s until the 1870s.
The weaving was largely carried out by men. The typical 'wabster's' cottage was single story with the living quarters on one side and the weaving room on the other. Good wages in the late 18th and early 19th centuries allowed for leisure activities, particularly gardening. The men often incorporated stylised floral designs in the shawls. By 1820s, the land loom weavers would earn £1 a week.
But it wasn't to last. The introduction of Jacquard looms housed in factories meant that the hand loom weavers had to work longer for less money. Long regarded as radicals in both politics and religion, thousands went in strike in the 1820s. But they couldn't compete with the factories, whcih required fewer workers. Many lost their livelihoods and left for Canada and Australia. It was noted in 1832 that 'weavers of Paisley were covered in rags and half-starved.'
Paisley is divided into three parishes: High, Middle and Low.
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