Our Stories

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.