Camperdown Works facts for kids

Camperdown Works was a huge factory in Dundee, Scotland. It covered about 30 acres, which is like 20 football fields! At one point, over 14,000 people worked there, mostly women. For a while, it was the biggest jute factory in the world. It was owned by a family called Cox Brothers.

How it Started

The Cox family had been involved in making linen in a place called Lochee since the early 1700s. In 1827, James Cox took over the family business. In 1841, he teamed up with his brothers, William, Thomas Hunter Cox, and George Addison Cox.

They quickly started using new ideas and switched from making linen to making jute. Jute is a strong plant fiber used to make things like ropes and bags. In 1849, they began building Camperdown Works in Lochee. Soon, all their jute making happened at this new factory.

Growing Bigger

The first building the Cox Brothers put up was a factory for power looms. These machines used power to weave fabric. It was the biggest power loom factory ever built in Dundee. In 1853, they added a factory for hand looms, which held 225 weaving machines.

One of the most important buildings was the High Mill. It was built in stages starting in 1857. It even had a 100-foot clock tower! By 1878, the factory had its own train line. It also made its own machines and employed 4,500 workers. By 1900, this number grew to 5,000 people.

Other Buildings

In the 1860s, they built a foundry to make metal parts and stables for up to 30 horses. There was even a special school on site from 1884 to 1896. This was a "half-time" school, meaning kids worked part of the day and studied part of the day.

The factory also had warehouses and a small fire-station. There was a shed for the train engines that used the factory's railway line. This line connected to the nearby Dundee and Newtyle Railway.

Cox's Stack

The most famous part of the factory was its huge brick chimney, known as "Cox's Stack." It was 282 feet tall! It was built between 1865 and 1866. The chimney was designed by an architect named James Maclaren and engineer George Addison Cox.

This tall chimney was connected to 57 boilers in the factory. You could see it when you came to Dundee by crossing the River Tay. "Cox's Stack" is still standing today. It is the tallest industrial chimney left in Scotland.

Impact on Lochee

Camperdown Works was very important to the area of Lochee. It was the main place where people worked. The factory's success helped turn the small village of Lochee into a busy and successful community in the 1800s. It also helped other businesses, like furniture making, grow.

The factory stopped making things in 1981. Some parts of the complex were sold and torn down in 1985. The site was even used to look like 1940s Berlin for a TV show called Christabel in the 1980s.

Who Ran the Factory

After James Cox passed away in 1885, his son Edward took a big role in running the factory. In 1893, Cox Brothers Ltd became a Limited Liability Company. This meant it was a formal business with specific rules.

In 1920, the company joined a new Dundee-based company called Jute Industries Ltd. This new company bought several jute factories in Dundee. James Ernest Cox, Edward Cox's son, was the Chairman of Jute Industries from 1920 to 1948. In 1971, Jute Industries changed its name to Sidlaw Industries Ltd. By 1940, Jute Industries said they were "the largest firm of jute spinners and manufacturers in Great Britain."

Besides Camperdown Works, Cox Brothers had offices in other cities. In 1888, they had offices in Meadow Place Dundee, as well as Glasgow, Manchester, and London.