Scottish College of Textiles/Heriot-Watt School of Textiles & Design
Home to one of the oldest textiles teaching schools in the world, Galashiels has a rich heritage in the textile ...
Home / All Stories /
With its rich history including legendary tales of Sir Walter Scott, the Border Reivers and the Braw Lads’ Gathering, as well as innovation in business and development, Galashiels has a captivating past.
Having grown from a small settlement on the Gala Water to an expanding, prosperous textile town which gained widespread reputation for the quality of its produce, Galashiels also endured hardship when the industry experienced a marked decline, first as result of the financial crisis in the 1930s and subsequently in the 1960s and 1970s.
The introduction and impact of electronics into the town in the early 1960s created new employment opportunities and established the Borders at the heart of the global electronics industry. A driving force for regional economic growth, its two pioneers can be traced back to their one room in the High Street, Galashiels.
This section captures some of Galashiels’ best loved and also lesser known stories, from the Braw Lad’s Gathering, to the story of the town’s Pavilion Cinema which opened its doors as “The Playhouse” in the town’s Market Street in June 1920, to the success of Bernat Klein’s textile design business against the perfect landscape of Galashiels and the Scottish Borders.
The Sutherlands
George Paterson Sutherland (b1852) served as an apprentice sculptor in Edinburgh, London and New York. He founded ...
Ken Mill and Bert Currie – a Galashiels history of Printed Circuit Boards
Historically trail blazers in the electronics industry, Galashiels’ pioneers led the way as the Borders found ...
Mitchell Glass
Mitchell Glass – a fourth-generation family business based in Galashiels – was founded by Robert Mitchell in 1875. ...
McQueen – An Enterprising Story
The McQueen story is one of enterprise by two Galashiels families – three generations of the McQueen family and ...
Charles Lapworth, Professor of Geology
Charles Lapworth (1842-1920) was one of Britain’s greatest geologists. He had a very close connection with ...
Sir Walter Scott and Galashiels
Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh’s Old Town in 1771, but the Scottish Borders – notably Abbotsford House, ...
Short History of the Dorward Family, Galashiels
Waukrigg Mill was acquired by James Dorward and his brother John Cochrane Dorward in 1890. The mill was known as J ...
Old Gala House
Old Gala House, situated just off Scott Crescent in the Old Town area of Galashiels, is a beautiful and impressive ...
Galashiels War Memorial
“If a vote was taken for the most perfect town memorial in the British Isles, mine would to go the peel tower and ...
Gala CC remembers the fallen
A full list of Gala Cricket Club players who served and sacrificed their lives during World Wars I and II has been ...
Alex Dalgetty & Sons: artisan bakery and home of the Famous Original Selkirk Bannock
Alex Dalgetty & Sons is a fifth-generation artisan bakery based in Galashiels, in the heart of the Scottish ...
Submit a story
Do you have a great story to tell about the town, people or history of Galashiels?
We want to hear about it!