Isaac Singer, an American of East European extraction, built his first sewing machine in 1850. It was patented in 1851 and was immediately a success. Factories were set up in America and in 1856, to satisfy the market in Europe, a factory was
established in Glasgow.
The factory in Bridgeton, Glasgow, couldn’t keep up with the demand so Singer decided to set up in Kilbowie, Clydebank, less than ½ mile north of the Clyde Bank shipyard. Building started in 1882 with Robert McAlpine and Co. as the builder and was completed in 1885.
The famous Singer clock, which was 190 feet high was installed the following year. The clock face was later increased in diameter to 26 feet making it the biggest in Britain and the second biggest in the world. By 1900 the factory was making 13,000 sewing machines a week. At its peak in 1913 Singer employed 14,000 people.
After the Second World War, Singer steadily declined as the competition increased and it eventually closed in 1980. The famous Singer clock was demolished in 1963 during a modernisation programme.
With the closure of Singer and the decline of shipbuilding, Clydebank witnessed high unemployment. In 1980 a Task Force was set up by the Scottish Development Agency to look at regeneration. In August 1981, Clydebank was declared Scotland’s
first Enterprise Zone. The SDA bought the Singer site and set up Clydebank Business Park.
Radio Clyde was one of the first businesses to locate there.
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire on the north bank of the River Clyde.
Until the late 19th century the area was largely rural consisting of villages and farms.
The Clyde Bank Shipbuilding Yard was set up here in 1871. Rapid growth of heavy industry, population and housing soon followed.
In 1882 the Singer Company moved their manufacturing base from Bridgeton, Glasgow to Clydebank. It quickly became the largest sewing machine factory in the world. It employed over 12,000 workers making domestic and industrial sewing machines that were shipped throughout the world.
During World War II, on 13 and 14 March 1941, Clydebank was a major target for German bombings. In what became known as the Clydebank Blitz, the town itself was seriously damaged as were the local shipyards and armaments factories such as the Dalnottar Oil depot and the Singer Sewing Machine Factory. Over the two days 528 civilians were killed, over 617 people were seriously injured and 4,000 homes were completely destroyed. More than 1000 bombs were dropped on the town by about 400 German planes. RAF fighters shot down two German bombers
The Singer factory closed in 1980 and was demolished in the early 1990s. The site is now largely occupied by a business park.