Mastodawn

This Is My Glasgow Jul 5, 2024

The former Heckling Shop on Glasgow Vennel in Irvine. Dating from the mid-18th century, this was where flax was dressed, making it ready for spinning, a process known as heckling. It was while working here in 1781 that Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, decided his future lay not in the flax industry, but as a writer.

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#glasgow #irvine #architecture #robertburns #heckling #scottishhistory

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Laurence M 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@thisismyglasgow I used to work in the ropeworks in Greenock - hemp would come in on bales and we broke the bales up , and put it through a series of machines to tease the rough bundles into flax for sending to the spinners. The machines had long thin tapered teeth like devices called heckle pins!