Patons and Baldwins was a leading

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

manufacturer of

knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

. It was an original constituent of the

FT 30 The FT 30 (''FT Ordinary Index'' or ''FTOI'', not "FTSE 30") is a now rarely used index that is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As an index of stocks to represent the real trends on the market, the FT 30 has been superseded by the FTS ...

index of leading companies on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

Early history

The business began as two separate companies: J & J Baldwin and Partners, founded in the late 1770s by James Baldwin of Halifax,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and John Paton Son and Co., founded in 1814 by John Paton of

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Both men had formed their businesses using the

spinning mule The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the Cotton mill, mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with th ...

developed by Samuel Crompton. They mainly produced yarns for commercial knitting machines. The Paton family were regarded as generous benefactors in the town of Alloa, where they provided funding for a significant range of public building projects, including Alloa Town Hall, public libraries, a school, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium. The two companies merged in 1920 and diversified into producing

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

for home knitters, as well as publishing

knitting pattern A knitting pattern is a set of written instructions on how to construct items using knitting. Forms There are two basic forms of knitting patterns: * Text patterns which use numerals and words (and usually Knitting abbreviations, abbreviations), ...

s under the "Patons Rose" and "Baldwins Beehive" trademarks.

Expansion

By the mid-1930s, the company had establishments across Scotland and

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

, including factories at

Billingham Billingham is a List of towns in England, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed as part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees unitary authority ...

and

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

, as well as in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and a large factory in Launceston,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The company branched out into various related lines of business, including the running of an

angora rabbit The Angora rabbit () is one of the oldest groups of domestic rabbit breeds, which is bred for the long fibers of its coat, known as '' Angora wool.'' They are gathered by shearing, combing or plucking. Because rabbits do not possess the same all ...

farm in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

between 1932 and 1934, and the development of new products such as

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

and Terylene. In 1951, the headquarters of the business was relocated from

Spring Hall, Halifax Spring Hall, also known as Spring Hall Mansions, is a mansion situated off the Huddersfield Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire. A house had been built on the site by 1614, but it was demolished in 1870 leaving only the cellars. It was rebuilt in Gothi ...

to a 140-acre site in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, where a single-storey factory employing 4,000 people was developed at a cost of £7.5 million. The factory had its own railway sidings and produced 113 tons of yarn every week.

Demise of the business

In 1961, the company was merged with J & P Coats Ltd. The Patons trademark is still in use today. Ownership passed from Coats plc to Mez Crafts and then in 2020 to DMC. The yarn production facility at Alloa was closed in 1999. The bulk of the surviving business records from the Alloa operation, together with some material from other factories, is now held by Clackmannanshire Archives in Alloa. The large factory in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, a 35-acre site, employed over 2,000 people in the 1960s. By 1982 the factory employed 604 people. The business was sold in the late 1980s; it passed through several owners until 1995 when it produced its last bail of yarn. The factory closed on 31 July 1997. In Australia the Patons brand is manufactured by Wangaratta Woollen Mills in Victoria, and has been a heritage Australian brand since 1923.

Works football club in Tasmania

The factory in Tasmania operated the Patons & Baldwins Soccer Club, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that played in the local

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

. The club was state champion in 1926 and 1930, and won the Northern Premier League 10 times between 1925 and 1958. It was closed in the early 1960s.

References

{{Authority control Manufacturing companies established in 1814 Knitting Defunct textile companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in County Durham Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1999 Defunct soccer clubs in Tasmania 1999 disestablishments in Scotland 1814 establishments in Scotland British companies established in 1814 British companies disestablished in 1999 Defunct soccer clubs in Australia