Significant role of flax and linen in Easter Ross to be focus of Civic Trust history talk in royal burgh of Tain

The history of a once-flourishing linen industry that made its mark on 18th century Tain and surrounding local villages is the subject of the latest talk organised by Tain and Easter Ross Civic Trust.

Anne Coombs will explain how, following government backing and the granting of a Royal Charter in July 1746, the flax and linen industry rapidly developed across the Highlands.

The industry had a major impact on local communities, such as Milton, and was the precursor for other attempts at Highland industrial development. One example was the British Fisheries Society which was founded in 1786 and led to the building of fishing villages in Ullapool, Tobermory and Pulteneytown.

But the linen trade was short-lived and by the 1770s people could work more profitably in the hemp sack and rope industry which led to a decline in linen processing.

Today the mark made by linen can be seen in bricks and mortar. The original Royal Charter had included the right to provide banking services and The British Linen Company used this to become the British Linen Bank, with Tain as an early branch.

In 1845, the bank built substantial new premises in Tower Street, which survived until 1969 – 222 years after first arriving. The bank survives today as the Bank of Scotland, the only remaining bank in Tain.

Anne’s talk starts at 7.30pm at The Royal Hotel, Tain on Tuesday, April 18.

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