‘The wheel that returned’
Su Grierson
First written 1986
I live on a farm in Scotland, and first saw the wheel of which I write in the window of an antique shop in Perth our nearest town. Clearly a museum piece and of local interest, the price being asked reflected the shop owners quiet and caring comment that he really would not be too worried if it didn't sell. This was a treasure he took pleasure in owning. I admired and photographed the wheel on several visits to the shop never even considering that one day it might grace my own home. It finally came as a wonderful Christmas present from my husband who confessed to being absolutely stuck for a better idea. Better idea indeed!
An examination of this wheel reveals much more than cold statistical information, it unfolds a story about the way of life of an important family living in our valley 150 years ago, and throws light on details of local textile history. So let us explore this exceptional wheel and leave it to tell its own story.
Flyers. The first feature to attract the eye is the fact that this is a three-flyer wheel. Only one original flyer remained but with the help of our village blacksmith and a local spinning wheel maker, two new replacement flyer units were constructed to match the original. I have yet to find, or read details of, a three flyer wheel with all original flyers remaining, so it is still not known to me if they should all be made to the same measurements. Indeed, finding such an intact wheel would possibly enable the intended purpose of the third flyer to be decided upon. In this wheel the central flyer is slightly elevated and clearly designed so that the drive band would work either the centre flyer alone, or the two lower outside flyers together, without altering the band length. From various written records it is known that two-flyer wheels were commonly used in areas of Scotland where flax was the predominant fibre with the distaff positioned centrally in front of the spinner. It was possible with practice to spin two threads simultaneously, one with each hand, and with a consequent increase in output. In 1681 an English writer Thomas Firmin described how children should be taught to spin on a single flyer wheel but using either hand so that when moving to the two-flyer wheel the yarns would be spun with equal amounts of twist otherwise he said the yarn from one hand would have much more twist than the other. A book about our valley written in 1944 relates the tale of two cousins ’Muckle Mary’ and ‘Little Mary’ who between them frequently spun a spindle of thread a day on two-flyer wheels, a spindle being over 4 miles of thread, which was double that of the average spinner. But even in flax areas such as this valley of Strathearn, flax was not spun exclusively, often wool was also needed for domestic purposes. Was the central flyer then perhaps originally larger than the outsiders in order to accommodate a more bulky woollen thread. Many spinners with whom I have discussed this matter consider the central flyer more likely have been used for plying, but then as far as I know, the spun linen produced locally was not normally plyed, but was sold to local merchants as singles and sent to Glasgow for twisting into thread. I have had the new flyers made to the same measurements as the old and these fit well in the flyer housing but I must say that when in use either as central flyer alone or the two outsiders together it is necessary to keep the unused flyer at a fixed position to avoid clashes. This is not always easy to do, and does suggest that originally the two outsiders might have been fractionally smaller.
Inscriptions. After exploring the flyer arrangement the eye next rests on the front edge of the neat round table. Here are to be seen two small brass plates finely engraved. To the side a rectangular plate bears the inscription ‘James Clement maker. Crieff. 1824’ Crieff is at the head of our valley of Strathearn and was formerly a market town of considerable importance where many weavers at one time worked. It seems however that James Clement made little impact on the community for he does not feature in any of the old trade lists. One other wheel similar to this and made by Clement is held in the collection of the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, but I know of no others. In 1751 a Scottish act of parliament had decreed that all spinning and weaving equipment should be inscribed with the makers name. This was not universally adhered to but many makers of better quality wheels like this one appear to have taken pride in embellishing the article with their name.
Motto. The second brass plate, this time round in shape, gives the clue to the original owner of the wheel. This takes the form of a crest showing a bee, the initials A. M. and the motto ‘Provideus Esto’. The crest and motto belonged to the Maxtone family whose residence was at Cultoquhey house just outside Crieff. By tracing through the family tree the initials and the date of 1824 lead directly to Alexina Maxtone wife of Anthony Maxtone 12th Laird of Cultoquhey. The ‘new’ house built some time after 1816 took many years to complete, it still stands and is now as I write in 1980’s run as a charming family home and country hotel by Anne and David Cook. ( currently in 2025 it is run as a country sporting estate and hotel) The wheel which was made for Alexina in the four year gap between the birth of her first two children would have been young indeed when it moved to its new abode.
The Maxtones were socially well connected, but the 12th Laird had numerous financial difficulties as well as health problems. The history of the Maxtones of Cultoquhey published in 1935 describes the life of Alexina as ‘typical of country life in Scotland through the middle years of the century… the days went by very quietly at Cultoquhey’ Alexina was said to be a woman of strong practical sense, gifted with a sense of humour and great vitality of character… She held the key position in all matters of family concern. It was her hand that guided the ship. Details of daily life at Cultoquhey are not recorded, but many books and documents of that era explained that the making of linen thread was an occupation for ladies from all social classes the poor depended on the income they received from spinning to pay the rent or feed the family, whilst the better off sold this thread to earn themselves ‘pin money’. Thread making was at one stage described as an ideal occupation for gentlewomen of small portions and perhaps Alexina did sell her linen thread, but it was also custom for households to use Linen spun by the ladies of the house and woven locally into tablecloths, napkins, and sheets. In 1836 George Penny wrote ‘even the nobility took a pride in having their linen and napiery spun in the family’.
Style This wheel is small and dainty, made in the upright style as were most two and three flyer wheels. Although superbly turned and finished with small bone finials, it is totally devoid of unnecessary or frivolous ornamentation, very Scottish in fact. It was certainly made to be an elegant drawing room wheel but is adorned purely by its fine craftsmanship.
Wood Here is an unusual feature because the wood is believed to be Partridge Wood, heavy but warm toned, from South America. There was in the mid 1800’s a fashion for using exotic woods, and indeed on Alexina's only trip abroad ( to Holland to take her husband to see a doctor of great renown but sadly little effect ) she purchased a large dining room table carved from a single piece of Amboyna wood.
Ratios and size. For a spinner the real interest of any wheel will be the dimensions and ratios for these will explain its capabilities and functions. I therefore made a simple list of
those that are most relevant they were measured in inches and approximate metric metric equivalent is added in brackets.
Height of Orifice from ground… 29 inches (74 cm)
Orifice diameter……………….. 1.8 inches (3 mm )
Treadle size…………………….. W 5 inches (13 cm). L 10 inches (25.5 cm)
Wheel circumference………… 50 inches (127 cm)
The wheel rim is made in four sections and cut with the wood grain running in different directions. The sections are joined with tongue and groove joints held with wood cross pins.
Whorl grooves : circumference …5 1/4 inches (13.25 cm) and 5 inches (12.75 cm).
Bobbin length… 3 inches (7.5 cm)
Flyer width at whorl …………… 3 3/4 inches (9.5 cm)
Small Hooks ….. on one arm of the flyer 15 on the other 17.
From the above details it is clear that the very small size of the flyer element makes this wheel suitable for spinning very fine yarns such as flax, the high wheel/whorl ratio is approximately 10:1 which is common on old flax wheels. The drive whorl/bobbin ratio is also quite high for fast uptake of yarn and taken together these features allow for a high output of fine yarn.
Now that the wheel has been described you may wonder why I say that it returned. Well this is a tale of pure coincidence. For a number of years I have organised a small spinning group in this area, it has been largely social with members meeting in each other's houses to spin, talk shop, and chatter. However, last year our numbers suddenly exploded and we had to seek larger premises but with the proviso that our meeting place must have the right warm and friendly atmosphere, no Church or Village halls for us! It so happened that one of our members was friendly with Anna and David Cook the (then) owners of Cultoquhey house hotel, and when approached with our problem, they immediately volunteered the use of the wood panelled dining room. They felt that we would add a new
dimension to their home and bring an element of history and past traditions that they clearly cared about.
With a lovely log fire to warm us on the coldest winter days, and Anna's home baking and hot coffee for our lunch we could not have found a more ambient location for our meetings. The wheel? Well, yes, although I do not use it for every day spinning, it gives me great pleasure to occasionally pack it in the car and take it ‘home’ to Cultoquhey house for the day.
The final paragraph of E Maxtone Graham’s Book about the Maxtone family, written prior to the selling of the family home and lands yet instinctively sensing that inevitable fate, reads… ‘How long the simple life of the countryside on land owned for centuries can be continued who can say? Under the pressure of modern conditions it may sink at last, here, as in so many lost homes throughout the land, where all love and striving has been to no avail to keep back the encroaching tide of change. But should the race pass and the ancient name cease to be linked with the lands, some spirit may still survive, an undying heritage from the past, in faint lovely legends of old ways, echoes of old serenities and loyalties, warmth of comradeship, love and laughter’.
The wheel that returned does indeed spin faint lovely legends of old ways and carries with it echoes of old serenity when once again it briefly rests beside the warming hearth in Alexina's home.
SOURCES
‘Traditions of Perth’ George Penny. Perth 1836. (Facsimile reprint. Perth. 1986)
‘The Maxstones of Cultoquhey' E Maxstone Graham. Edinburgh 1935.
‘The Scottish linen industry’ A.J. Durie Edinburgh 1979.
‘Some proposals for employment of the poor…’ Thomas Firmin. London 1681.
‘Spinning wheels, spinners and spinning’ P Baines. London 1977.
‘Logiealmond ‘ Reverend D.M Forrester. Oliver & Boyd Limited 1944.
‘The industries of Scotland’ D Bremner. Edinburgh 1869 (reprint, David and Charles. 1969)
‘Jacobite Estates of the Forty-Five’. A.M Smith. Edinburgh. 1982.