Records of a Scottish Cloth Manufactory at New Mills, Haddingtonshire, 1681-1703

Notes:

Largely comprises a complete transcription of 'The Book for the Managers of the Manufactories Weekly Sederunts' [pp1-222] dating from the inception of the business, June 1681, to March 1691. The original document has 436 pages; it is held in Edinburgh University Library. Also included is an incomplete transcription of a surviving subsequent part - 'The Sederunt Book for the Managers' [pp222-356] covering 1701-03 but omitting certain statistics and names - 'these minutes during the first and last months are printed in full, the remainder is subject to the omission of the statistics of pieces of cloth made and the names of the managers attending each meeting'. Together these provide a detailed account of the decisions made by the managers. Also includes substantial introductory chapters covering: 'The cloth trade in Scotland during the seventeenth century'; 'The influence of the joint stock company on the industrial revival in Scotland towards the end of the seventeenth century'; 'The history of the New Mills Company'; 'Documents relating to the foundation of the company' ie transcriptions of two documents, 1681