Reid & Taylor - Langholm 1915

The original premises were established by T & A Renwick and expanded considerably by David Reid (1776-1858) and his son Alexander (1813-1874), with financing from Cumbrian merchant and draper Joseph Taylor (1820-1896).

^{Alexander Reid (left), Taylor (right) and their London agent (centre)}

By 1874 it was a large multi-storey complex known as the Factory.

^{Engraving of the Factory at its peak, employing around 400 people}

Unlike the other mills, it was in the New Town, with its clock tower facing the Old Town on the other side of the River Esk.

^{The front of the Factory on the river front, with clock tower, 1900}

The photo below shows the side of the complex, with the clock tower at centre. On the left in the middle ground is the Old Town, with the chimney of the Eskdale Mill visible against the trees.

After Reid and Taylor died, the company was run by Henry Graham (1846-1909), believed to have been Taylor’s illegitimate son. By the time of the Great War, it had passed to Graham’s sons Richard (1874-1918) and Frederic (1878-1933).

^{Fred Graham, a keen Langholm cricketer}

Reid & Taylor profits contributed to two of the Langholm area’s large houses: Craigcleugh (1874), built by Alexander Reid, and Holmwood (1885), built by Henry Graham. However, Reid died in March 1874, before Craigcleugh had been completed.