Craigmillar Steam Laundry, West Savile Terrace

Category

Library Item

Item no

12013

Title

Craigmillar Steam Laundry, West Savile Terrace

Description

The Craigmillar Steam Laundry in Edinburgh is situated next to the suburban railway. Laundry workers put out washing on washing lines. Rolling stock and the blur of a train can be seen on the railway. In the background is a line of houses.

Artist / maker

Couper, James Lamb

Date

1890

Type

Photograph

The Craigmillar Steam Laundry was founded in the early 1880's. It is described in 'A Descriptive Account of Edinburgh - Illustrated', published around 1893, as "the largest, best arranged, and most perfectly equipped establishment of this kind in Scotland". The laundry used state of the art equipment including steam driven washing machines and hydro-extractors, a type of spin drier. In addition to the cleaning, ironing and finishing of clothes the laundry dealt with a whole range of materials including carpets and curtains. All finished goods were despatched in the company's horse drawn vans. In the late nineteenth century the laundry employed roughly 130 people.

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Related subjects

Furnishings > Equipment > Laundry

Furnishings > Equipment > Washing lines

People > Industry > Laundresses

Places > Edinburgh areas > Newington

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Railway