John Jackson, Coachbuilders

John Jackson and Sons, Coachbuilders Dunfermline’s Industrial Past By George Beattie John Jackson was born in the hamlet of Shiresmill, near Blairhall, Fife, in 1885.  He founded a firm which, for 70 years, built high quality vehicle bodies in Dunfermline. On...

The Dunfermline Foundry

by George Beattie The Dunfermline Foundry Company had its origins in the Maygate, Dunfermline, when, in 1815, Robert Campbell commenced ironfounding on a small scale in the smithy premises of Tam Thomson.1  “Viagraphy Dunfermlynensis” speaks of Fishmarket...

Michael Tod, Engineers

 Michael Tod and Sons Ltd., Engineers by George Beattie A native of Kirkcaldy, who spent his early years in the West of Scotland, Michael Tod came to Dunfermline around 1870. Shortly thereafter, in April 1872, he formed a partnership with Alexander Bennett, founding...

George Kay and Sons, Coach-builders

by George Beattie Born in 1854, George Kay served an apprenticeship as a coach-builder with the firm of David Doig who had premises in Randolph Street, Dunfermline. In 1881, he entered into a partnership with William Darroch Wilkinson and founded Messrs Kay and...

The Last Clay Pipe Manufacturer in Fife

In “William Richmond, Clay Pipe Manufacturer”, George Beattie gives us another article in a series on Dunfermline’s Industrial Past, with the history of a firm which made and sold clay pipes for over eighty years in Dunfermline.