Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Registered UK Charity (No. 115342)

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 162,258 pages of information and 244,500 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Polton Mill

From Graces Guide

Polton Mill was established in 1750 as the Polton Paper Mill Company and expanded by Edinburgh bankers Arbuthnot and Guthrie and Forbes Hunter & Co.

1772 Went bankrupt, the mill was closed and sold to William Simpson of Polton.

By the early 1790s, Simpson was responsible for a number of papermaking innovations including the first use of chlorine bleach in Scotland "in bleaching or whitening his paper stuff". William Simpson's other developments included the tub-sizing of writing paper, which improved the absorption of printing ink, mechanical agitation of the stuff chest and steam heated vats.

By 1825 Polton was being operated by Alexander Annandale when the first papermaking machine was installed.

Post-WWII The mill closed shortly after the Second World War.

See Also

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Sources of Information

  • [1] Penicuik Papermaking