A tannery was established in Elizabeth Street in the 1850s by Hawick-born Walter Scott, having dissolved his prior tannery business around the corner.

He was a leading light in the formation of the Evangelical Union (‘EU’) movement in the border area, providing its first meeting place in Langholm in his tannery’s bark-house (tree bark was used for ‘tanning’: treating raw animal hides to turn them into leather). He was Langholm’s first ordained EU elder when it opened a new church building near the town centre.

After his death in 1899, he was succeeded in his business by his wife’s nephew Charles Paisley.

The tannery (also known as the ‘skinyards’) is visible in front of the taller of the two chimneys below, with possibly some hides drying on the suspension footbridge over the river. It suffered from a fire in 1905.

Charles Paisley was joined in the business by his two elder sons Robert and Thomas. His third son Scott became a chemist.