Arts & Culture in West Dunbartonshire

Singer in West Dunbartonshire

The building of the Singer factory in Kilbowie, later Clydebank, started on the 8th May 1882 and it was opened in 1885 with 5000 workers. It was the world's largest factory and produced sewing machines for the whole of Europe. Clydebank's most famous landmark, the 200ft clock tower stood over the central wing and has the reputation of being the largest four faced clock in the world.

Each face weighed five tons and it took four men fifteen minutes twice a week to keep it wound. It was demolished in 1963 and the museum has a collection of souvenir ashtrays which were made out of the hands. Singer station was completed in 1906 and was the only train station named after local industry.

The factory had its own company of the Home Guard, several of them won the George Cross, among them Alexander Ballantyne, whose correspondence was donated to the museum.

In 1966 Singer employed a record number of 16,055 people but by the late '60s compulsory redundancies were taking place, and in the late '70s the workforce was reduced to just 5000.

As a result of financial and problems, linked to lack of orders, on the 12th October 1979 Singer announced "with the deepest regret" that the factory would close by June 1980. When the factory closed, the company donated its collection of sewing machines to the museum.

View the Clydebank Museum's Singer Room page.