Dundee’s hidden textile empire has been revealed in a new book
- Andrew Batchelor
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
A new book is set to shine a fresh light on Dundee’s industrial past, arguing that the city’s story has been “badly treated” by historians.
The National reported that the book, The Triumph of Textiles: Industrial Dundee, written by historians Chris Whatley and Jim Tomlinson, explores how the city’s textile success went far beyond the well-known story of jute.
While Dundee earned the nickname “Juteopolis” in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the authors say linen and carpets were just as important in shaping the city before 1850.
Professor Whatley, emeritus professor of Scottish History at the University of Dundee, said the city had been unfairly painted as grim and deprived by many commentators. While Dundee did face poverty and hardship after the 1870s, he argues that earlier decades showed a bustling, hardworking community admired both at home and abroad.
He points to praise from William Chambers in 1847, who admired the “indomitable spirit” of Dundonians compared to what he saw as Edinburgh’s “idle opulence.” Even observers from the United States were impressed, with American professor Waterhouse visiting in the 1880s and seeing Dundee as a model of manufacturing greatness.
The book highlights Dundee’s role in producing high-quality canvas, colourful carpets, and rugs that ended up in millions of homes across Britain. Despite this, the city’s carpet industry has been largely forgotten in national histories of textiles. Whatley notes that Dundee has often been reduced to images of coarse jute sacks, when in fact it was producing richly coloured fabrics that shaped working-class life.
The authors also stress that Dundee’s expertise in linen before the 1850s was vital to its later success with jute, giving it an advantage over other cities like Glasgow and London, which failed to establish their own jute industries. “Until the 1860s, Dundee was Britain’s leading linen manufacturer,” Whatley said. “You could even call it Linopolis.”
However, the book does not shy away from the darker side of this industrial growth. Dundee’s textiles were deeply tied to the British Empire, with products such as osnaburg cotton sold to slave plantations in the American South. It also examines the relationship between jute barons and workers, challenging the idea that Dundee was a culturally deprived city.
The Triumph of Textiles: Industrial Dundee offers a new perspective on the city’s past, showing that Dundee was more than just jute – it was a leading centre of innovation and industry whose story is still being uncovered today.
