FAQ's

What are the origins of Roller Blinds?

The Scotch Holland roller blind has a history dating back as far as the early part of the 18th Century. The earliest material used for the purpose of making roller blinds seems to have been Holland linen cloth, which as the name implies, originally came from, or at least, was bleached in Holland and laid out to dry in the fields. Picture if you can, some Dutchman in a theatre in Amsterdam, looking idly at the linen stage curtain as it rose and fell, when suddenly, the idea of a window blind made from Holland cloth struck him. Shouting the Dutch word for “Eureka!” he would jump madly from the fauteuil to rush home to sketch the first drawings from which the blind was to be made. Little would he think that his invention would cast it’s shade over the whole world – if you would excuse the pun.

Actual records of the manufacture of Scotch Holland fabric go back to Glasgow 1725, to a weaver of white linen cloth for blinds, James Louis Robertson. Apparently, in 1773, he updated his production of the cloth by installing two new looms which were powered by a large Newfoundland dog performing the role of a gin horse within a large tread wheel. In 1775, a few miles down the road, John King opened a weaving factory to produce a similar cloth. The original wooden roller blind had no spring and was developed from the old “bookfold” system where the cloth lay in folds like a concertina on the window cill and was raised to cover the window by a cord attached to a “top rod”. The cord was then secured to a cleat to prevent it dropping back. This system prevailed for many years until someone invented a roller with a flange end, but this still had to be secured to a cleat. It is not known when the modern spring roller was invented, except that it was well into the 19th century, but it is known that it was very slow to become popular as people did not trust the new fangled springs.

The earliest manufacturers of Scotch Holland cloth still chose to use the heavy duty Dutch linen, which was then bleached, dyed and heavily starched. Whilst still wet the cloth was layered between two sheets of brown paper and then wound around great drying cylinders above which were suspended heavy beating bars of solid wood. These bars measured 4-5 inches square and were 12 foot long. The beaters were rounded at the ends to strike the cloth without damage and were commonly known by the workers as “beetles”. The beetle gantry consisted of a row of 30-40 of the wooden bars and an enormous power driven cam-shaft revolving alongside. Each beetle had a lug which caught on the cam and was thus lifted some 12-18 inches, after which it slipped off and was allowed to free fall onto the rotating cloth on the large cylinder beneath. This process was repetitive and the beetles would be raised and dropped in quick succession, continuing for 3-4 days. The beating process made the fibres of the cloth spread and gave the cloth a “polished” look to the surface of the fabric – the interleaved brown paper successfully polishing the underside layers. After a few days the fabric was unwound, re-wetted and reverse mounted on to the drying drums to be given another 3-4 days of pounding. The beetling shed, as it was known, was an unenviable place to work and, as you may imagine, the thunderous noise produced, shook the ground around, and, in the early days before ear protection, resulted in many of the workers becoming stone deaf. Later on during the second world war flashing lights had to be installed instead of sirens so that workers could be warned of impending air raids.

In this way the unique qualities of the Scotch Holland fabric were achieved, a cloth that is renowned for its finish and durability. The whole process took about 10 days and the widest fabric produced was 112 inches. The name “Scotch Holland” was coined because, like scotch whisky, pure Scottish spring water was required to impart that unique property to the cloth and although many attempts were made to reproduce it in other parts of the world – just like whisky – it proved impossible.

To complete a Scotch Holland roller blind, the famous fabric was cut to size and secured with small tacks to a one piece round wooden batten. The bottom of the blind had a pocket in the fabric to take a wooden bottom bar and all the side hems were hand sewn using a herringbone stitch to prevent fraying. Glace cords were used to operate the blind. Brass pins were inserted into the end of the roller and the blind was located into small brass flanges which effectively made the fixing brackets.

The developments of alternatives for the mass market and the high cost of production by traditional methods led to a decline in demand and production of Holland fabric was discontinued in Scotland in the early 1980’s

The Hallmark traditional roller blind uses the best quality cotton material that is now available to replicate as closely as possible to the original. The finish fittings and production methods are the same, producing a blind to the quality standards of yesteryear.

 

Linked Information:

The History of Venetian Blinds 
The History of Traditional Awnings 
Hallmark Roller Blinds

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