GOURDON in Aberdeenshire.
The village of Gourdon is located on the north east coast
of Scotland, within Kincardine and Mearns, the most southerly of the six
administrative areas of Aberdeenshire. It lies within the Parish of
Bervie, 1.5 km to the south of the Royal Burgh of Inverbervie. An
historic sea port and fishing village, the settlement grew up on limited
flat ground around a natural Harbour. Inland a single access road rises
up the steep coastal slope to the A92. This main arterial route links
the village to the main towns and villages to the north and south and to
its agricultural hinterland.
The main Harbour was built around 1819 to a design by Thomas Telford and
was extended in 1842. The Gutty Harbour to the east was added in 1859.
Large granaries and warehouses were built adjacent to the Harbour. A
herring fishing station opened in 1830 and resulted in a large number of
vessels from other ports visiting the Harbour and in the development of
many occupations engaged in the herring industry. Other developments
included a clay pit and a brick and tile works in 1844. Further
expansion and development occurred in the early part of the twentieth
century. In 1908 the Selbie Works were erected and continued in
operation until 1997, by which time it had become the last working flax
spinning mill on mainland Britain. The historic heart of the
village, the Harbour and the land immediately surrounding it, lie at the
base of a steep slope which is characteristic of this part of the east
coast, between the estuaries of the Rivers Bervie to the North and the
North Esk to the south.
The Selbie Works is a moderately sized textile mill complex situated
next to the beach in the village of Gourdon in Kincardineshire. It
comprises a main block of predominantly single-storey buildings (mostly
with slate roofs), built from mainly pink sandstone. A long single bay
forms the main facade of the works onto 'East End', the bulk of the
factory being contained in a large north-lit spinning shed to the rear.
Other buildings include the brick-built single-story office (also facing
onto 'East End'), and some ancillary buildings such as the Boiler House
(containing Cochran's of Annan 'Wee Chieftain' 4), and a pair of
brick-built raw flax/jute warehouses detached from the factory to the
East.
The mill had previously been owned by William Peters, whose brother
James owned a mill at neighbouring Inverbervie. Selbie Works was taken
over by Murray Scarlet, in the 1950s, and was converted to produce light
jute yarn, allowing for a transition to flax spinning if required (in
this instance, 'Tow' which is short-fibre flax). In the post-war years,
there was a rejuvenated demand for flax caused by the need for
tarpaulins both for rail and road transport. Scarlet also diversified
into synthetics (such as Rayon), and into carpets (also using synthetic
fibres). His business merged with Jute Industries Limited in the 1970s,
eventually becoming Sidlaw Industries. Selbie Works then specialised in
flax spinning alone, emerging as the only flax spinner in mainland
Britain, producing yarn for a variety of uses, including curtain and
upholstery fabrics.
The surviving elements of Sidlaw Industries became J & F Spinners
following a management buyout in 1994-5, the jute business failing in
1996, and the flax at Selbie ceasing in May 1997 after a steep fall in
demand, probably caused by the demise of the Laura Ashley chain of
shops. Much of the flax machinery has since been sold to Belgian
companies (information from works; Murray Reid, Manager, 30 January
1998). To the
north is the small town of Inverbervie which boasted
the first working flax mill in Scotland around 1790.
