Scotch carpets at Stirling: Thomas Gilfillan's cash book and ledger, 1764–1770 (and Axminster manufacture in Edinburgh)

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Research notes

Two articles in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The 2000 article treats Gilfillan's business books (1764–70) as rare evidence of a working Scotch carpet manufactory, describes Scotch carpets as flat, reversible, pileless woollen floor coverings encouraged by the Board of Trustees for Manufactures from the mid-18th century, and quotes a 1776 observer: Scotch carpets suited those who 'cannot afford the extravagant prices of Wilton, Axminster, and other more expensive manufactories'. The 2005 article ('Axminster carpet manufacture in Edinburgh in the mid-18th century') reports a French carpet weaver who set up a hand-knotted 'Axminster' workshop in Edinburgh and Fife, the Edinburgh society's 1755 carpet premiums, and Germain Havard, who came in 1759 from Thomas Moore's London manufactory. None of those Edinburgh carpets are known to survive. Why it matters: shows the price ladder of the 1760s–70s (Scotch/ingrain at the bottom; Wilton and hand-knotted 'Axminster' at the top). Sources: https://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/9541 · https://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/9650 · https://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/download/9541/9508/9493 Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.