Caledonia Cabinet and Chair Works

CALEDONIA CABINET & CHAIR WORKS. Mr. Matthew Pollock, Beith, Ayrshire.

    The great and representative Cabinet-making and Chair manufacturing works of Mr. Matthew Pollock, in Beith, now form one of the main centres of the industry in Scotland, and, in some respects, are unrivalled in the United Kingdom. Mr. Pollock has had a life-long experience of the business, having been apprenticed at an early age to Mr. James Dale, one of the most reputed craftsmen of his day. In partnership with his brother, Mr. John Pollock, he laid the foundation of the modern development of the cabinet-making business in Beith by establishing the celebrated Victoria Cabinet Works. This took place in 1857, and from that date to 1879 he was devoted to the promotion of the enterprise, watching over its evolution and supporting it with undeviating attention. When he started the above splendid concern the success of the enterprise in Beith was already assured — thanks to the many ingenious inventions for woodworking introduced by the firm of Messrs. M. and J. Pollock.

    At present the Caledonia Works comprise a group of substantial three-storey workshops, splendid suites of offices, and capacious yards and stores, occupying a space of one-and-a-half acres and affording employment to 250 hands. The whole is enclosed by a boundary wall, and forms a compact and complete factory of the first order of magnitude. The offices occupy the front, and communicate by a covered gangway with the works, which stand to the left and rear. The yard is utilized for the storage of logs and sawn timber, of which a heavy stock is necessarily kept to meet the large demands of the factory, but all the larger, as a considerable portion is undergoing the seasoning process, which takes several years. Much of the fine home and foreign hard woods is kept in sheds, under cover, and the amplest accommodation is provided for this purpose. The factory proper consists of several blocks of buildings, with spacious attics above the third storey, and offering every facility of space for the several departments of the work.

    It will be evident, then, that, in point of capacity, the Caledonia Works are all that can be desired. On entering, the visitor will be agreeably surprised at the superb mechanical equipment of the place. First in order comes the powerful steam engine, which is the latest of the many additions that have from time to time taken place. This is the most powerful engine that we know of in the cabinet-making industry, and was started on Saturday, January 10th, 1891, by Mr. Pollock, the auspicious event being afterwards celebrated by a banquet, to which a large and influential company sat down. The engine was made by Messrs. Robert Kerr and Sons, of Glengarnock, who have long been associated with the production of machinery for the Messrs. Pollock, and is a horizontal tandem condensing engine, developing 200-h.p. and working with a minimum supply of fuel. A large pond has also been constructed to store water for condensing and steam-raising purposes. The sawmill occupies a great portion of the ground floor of the works, and contains a large horizontal frame-saw, cutting up to 4 ft., a large vertical 3-ft. frame-saw, a heavy travelling circular bench saw, a “swing” crosscut circular for logs, etc., fine circulars, band saws of all sizes, planing, moulding, mitring, tenoning, mortising, scraping, and turning machinery, all of special construction, and embodying several important improvements and inventions of Mr. Pollock.

    Division of labour has been carried into every department, and though the greater portion of the work is done with the greatest accuracy and finish by the various machines, the expertness acquired by the attendants does much to facilitate operations, particularly in the turning and shaping departments. The speed at which the work is turned out tends greatly to lessen the cost of production, and reduces the work of the fitters’ department to a minimum, nothing being necessary but to put together the parts previously prepared and ready to their hands.

    The fitting and finishing shops occupy the upper floors, where samples of the most beautiful cabinet work may always be seen in process of being put together. A special department is set apart for chair making, and turns out 20,000 annually. Another is devoted to bedroom and dining-room suites and a third to carved work. The polishing operations are also fully provided for. The important matter of drying the wood thoroughly before cutting up and fitting it is carried out in a large stove house, of three flats, over the boiler room. Such, in brief, is the mechanical outfit and working equipment of the business in the Caledonia Works.

    Mr. Pollock, we need not say, retains the services of the best designers that can be found, and his production will be found to cover all types of furniture, from the simply useful article to the most exquisite reproductions of Renaissance and modern work. He enjoys a splendid connection with the best British furniture houses ; the manner in which he has combined the finest design with the reliability which Scotch furniture has long displayed being now universally appreciated. The business is still expanding, and will, doubtless, yet assume even larger proportions. Mr. Pollock, who is ably assisted by his son, is as popular as he is widely known, and with his brother, the owner of the original Victoria Works, stands at the head of this great industry. They have given it a new lustre and development, and will, we trust, be long spared to wear the laurels they have so honourably won.

Back to Index of Firms (1891)