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The story of Harris Tweed is the story of a remote island community
that lies between the Highlands of Scotland on the north west tip
of Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean.
For centuries the islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra have
woven the magical cloth the world knows as Harris Tweed, Clo Mhor
in the original Gaelic- 'The big cloth'.
From time immemorial, the inhabitants of the West of Scotland, including
the Outer Hebrides had made cloth entirely by hand. As the Industrial
Revolution reached Scotland, the mainland turned to mechanisation
but the Outer Islands retained their traditional processes. Lewis
and Harris had long been known for the excellence of the weaving done
there, but up to the middle of the nineteenth century, the cloth was
produced mainly for home use or for a purely local market.
In 1846, Lady Dunmore, widow of the late Earl of Dunmore, had the
Murray tartan copied by Harris weavers in tweed. This proved so
successful that Lady Dunmore devoted much time and thought to marketing
the tweed to her friends and then to improving the process of production.
This was the beginning of the Harris Tweed industry. At that time
the method of making this handmade was as follows:
The raw material, wool, was produced locally and part of it would
have been used in its natural uncoloured state, the rest was dyed.
In the 19th century vegetable dyes were used. Following dyeing,
the wool was mixed, the shade being regulated by the amount of coloured
wool added; then it was oiled and teased; the latter process involves
pulling the wool apart to open out the fibres. The next part of
the preparation, carding, results in the fibres of the wool being
drawn out preparatory to spinning. This was a very lengthy process
followed by spinning carried out on familiar spinning-wheel by women.
Until the turn of the century a very early type of handloom was
used for weaving with a manually operated shuttle. The final process
is finishing where the tweed is washed and given a raised compact
finish. The involved in this process was often accompanied by songs
in Gaelic.
As a result of the marketing efforts of Lady Dunmore, increased sales
of the tweed were achieved and trade was established with cloth merchants
in large towns in the UK.
At about the turn of the century the primitive small loom was replaced
by the improved "fly-shuttle" loom. This was made of wood and heavier
than the earlier loom tending to make weaving an occupation for
men rather than women. Although originally imported from the Galashiels
a local joiner started making the new type of loom in 1903.
Between 1903 and 1906 the tweed making industry in Lewis increased
rapidly. Mr Aeneas Mackenzie's carding mill in Stornoway added spinning
machinery and a second mill was started by Mr Kenneth Mackenzie
from whom one of the largest Harris Tweed producing companies in
existence takes its name today.
At a meeting in Stornoway in 1906 efforts were considered for placing
the industry on a more satisfactory footing. This was a most harmonious
meeting and as the Trade Marks Act had been passed in 1905 making
provision for a registration of Standardisation Marks, it seemed
to be novel opportunity to end the increasing practice of offering
mill-spun tweed as genuine Harris Tweed.
This meant the introduction of a system of whereby the tweed was
inspected and, if passed, given a certifying stamp which would give
confidence to the trade and public. A company limited by guarantee
was formed under the title The Harris Tweed Association Limited.
This was mainly to ensure the grant of a mark and an application
was filed to register the well-known Harris Tweed Trade mark consisting
of the orb and the Maltese Cross with the words Harris Tweed underneath.
One of the objectives of obtaining a Mark was to protect the industry
from the competition of the spinning mills.
The original definition read,"Harris Tweed means a tweed, hand-spun,
hand-woven and dyed by the crofters and cottars in the Outer Hebrides".
The Certification Mark was granted in 1909, registered in 1910 and
stamping began in 1911. Amended Regulations were confirmed in June
1934 and the following was promulgated, "Harris Tweed means a tweed
made from pure virgin wool produced in Scotland, spun, dyed and
finished in Outer Hebrides and hand-woven by the islanders at their
own homes in the Islands of Lewis , Harris, Uist, Barra and their
several purtenances and all known as the Outer Hebrides".
There could be added in legible characters to the Trade Mark, the
words "Woven in Lewis", "Woven in Harris", "Woven in Uist" or "Woven
in Barra" for the purpose of distinguishing where the tweed was
made".
The alteration in the Trademark Definition in 1934, allowing the
use of millspun yarn, enabled the industry to make a huge leap in
production. The stamped yardage increased tenfold and continued
to increase till the peak figure of 7.6 million yards was reached
in 1966.
The Hattersley single width loom The introduction of the Hattersley
domestic loom in the 1920s enabled the weavers to produce more and
to weave complicated patterns that could not be woven on the large
wooden looms that were used for the previous 50 years.
This loom was brought to the islands by Lord Leverhulme who owned
Lewis and Harris for some years and introduced many changes with mixed
results.
The Hattersley loom is still used in the industry but is being replaced
by the new Bonas-Griffith double width loom which was introduced
in 1996 to satisfy market demands for wider, softer, lighter Harris
Tweed. The Harris Tweed Association was the proprietor of the famous
"Orb" Trademark. Throughout this century the HTA protected and promoted
the Orb all over the world. The success of the industry meant that
competitors tried to imitate Harris Tweed or pass off other fabrics
as genuine. Much of the competition was from mainland Scotland and
this led to a case at the Court of Session in 1964 that was, for
a long time, the longest civil case in Scottish legal history. The
judgement by Lord Hunter re-inforced the 1934 definition that tied
all production processes to the Outer Hebrides and removed the threat
of mainland competition. The years following the 1964 case were
the most successful ever for Harris Tweed but, by the late 1980s
the industry had begun to contract as fashions changed and the Harris
Tweed jacket became less popular. The industry set out to transform
itself by:
- producing a new double width loom
- re-training weavers
- introducing new, tougher Standards
- marketing the new wider, softer, lighter tweed.
The Harris Tweed Authority took over from the Harris Tweed Association
in 1993 by Act of Parliament. Thus the definition of Harris Tweed
became statutory and forever tied the cloth to the Islands:
Harris Tweed means a tweed which has been hand woven by the islanders
at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the islands of
Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and their
several purtenances (The Outer Hebrides) and made from pure virgin
wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.
The late 90s are a difficult time for the British textile industry
and Harris Tweed is no exception. However there is confidence that
the hard decisions taken to reform the industry will eventually
bear fruit and secure the future of this unique product.
The history of Harris Tweed from its origins right up to the 1993
Act of Parliament has been published by Acair Ltd of Stornoway,
Isle of Lewis ( Tel: +44 (0) 1851 703020).
Download The
1993 Act of Parliament as a pdf document. 
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