'Scotch' carpet in Kilmarnock (from 1728?): pileless double cloth, much of it sold to Holland

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Research notes

Undiscovered Scotland dates Kilmarnock carpet making to 1728, when Maria Gardiner began making carpets and blankets on hand looms with spinners and weavers brought from Dalkeith (one source only). Future Museum (south-west Scotland museums) describes Kilmarnock's early 'Scotch' carpets as pileless cloth rugs, often resembling tapestry, sold largely to Holland; Kilmarnock later wove finer pile carpets and became known across Europe once weavers took up power looms. A Dumfries & Galloway record notes the Scotch carpet was a double-thickness cloth with colours reversed underneath. By 1855–57 the Ordnance Survey name book counted six or seven carpet factories making Brussels, Wilton and Scotch carpets. Grace's Guide credits Thomas Morton of Kilmarnock with carpet-loom machinery, and another source credits him with adding a third ply ('Scotch three-ply Kidderminster'); his date (sometimes given as 1824) is unconfirmed. Conflict: 1728 is unconfirmed elsewhere, and Gregory Thomson is not mentioned in any source found. Sources: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kilmarnock/kilmarnock/index.html · https://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/life-work/key-industries/textiles/carpet-and-linoleum-manufacture · https://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/life-work/key-industries/textiles/carpet-and-linoleum-manufacture/scotch-carpets--crawick-woollen-manufactures--sanquhar · https://gracesguide.co.uk/Thomas_Morton_(of_Kilmarnock) · https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books/ayrshire-os-name-books-1855-1857/ayrshire-volume-34/3 Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.