Selkirk's Textile Industry

Fundamental to the success of Selkirk’s historic textile industry in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the riverside area used to be a throng of dark woollen mills, grouped alongside the railway line to Galashiels, a vital link for the shipping of Selkirk yarn and tweed, now sadly removed. Tartans and tweeds were exported worldwide and mile upon mile of military uniform cloth, “made in Selkirk”, was supplied to troops in both World Wars.

The riverside area has a different ambience now, in the light of the many new commercial ventures that have sprung up there, increasingly giving a new lease of life to the old mill buildings, including the ‘A’-listed Ettrick spinning and weaving mill, which has been conserved and converted to provide high quality business accommodation.