Kilbirnie - Industry

Industry

Glengarnock Steel Works opened its blast furnaces around 1841 which caused a massive influx of people from all over the country, as well as all over the world. Initially these works were owned by Merry & Cunninghame before being taken over by David Colville & Sons and eventually nationalised as part of British Steel and finally closed in 1985. The steelworks in Glengarnock provided employment mostly for the men of the community, whilst the W & J Knox Threadmills in Kilbirnie provided work mainly for women.

The entire collection of staff magazines from the Merry & Cunninghame to Colvilles days of the steelworks at Glengarnock have been preserved and are held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. This provides content such as spotlights on employees and departments, and contains photographs over 100 years old. W & J Knox Threadmills were owned by the Knox family who were very prominent, not only in Ayrshire but in the South of England too, with their families becoming important members of society. Some of the mansion houses they built were: Moorpark (once home of Robert William Knox); Redheugh (once home of Hugh Knox); Knoxville (on Knoxville Road); and Place (home of Sir James Knox and Sir Charles and Lady Mathew, his son-in-law), which has since been demolished. The second of the three cemeteries in Kilbirnie contains an underground vault where the family are buried, next to the main Knox monument. These mills were famous for their nets, used by the British Army as well as the British Telecom Tower in London, for example. Numerous associations to the family can be found around the town. The Knox Institute which sits above shops at the bridge was donated by a member of the Knox family and housed Kilbirnie's first public library.

World War I veteran and hero General Mathew married into this family and lived at "Place". Who's Who editions of the period list many members of the family and give further information on knighthoods, etc.