McManus 168

Alexander Low was born to Andrew Low, a manufacturer in ‘Hillton of Dundee’^[24]and Catherine Whitton, in 1803.^[1]

By the 1830s, Alexander and his father Andrew had established their joint operation on what was then called the ‘Upper Dens.’^[19] It was reported that, at the time, (1833) ‘it was surrounded with pleasant fields which are now (1878) covered with factories and houses, while ‘Low’s Mill,’ as it was called, has grown into 2 mills, a large power loom factory and calendar and are known as Hillbank Linen Works.’^[19]

The location and description of the works were described as having been ‘On the east side of Hillbank Road. This mill is situated between the Dens and Hillbank Roads and consists of buildings for preparing and spinning flax tow and jute yarns which are woven into Hessians, Osnaburgs etc., by hand and power looms in the adjoining rooms. The machinery is driven by 2 steam engines of 30 and 16 hp respectively. There are about 270 persons employed and the proprietor is Mr Alexander Low. The buildings are 2-3 storeys in height, the lower part being used for preparing and the upper for spinning yarns.’^[26]

The Lows would appear to have belonged to the earlier pioneers working with jute. Although Thomas Neish had introduced the fibre in Dundee about the year 1822, early attempts at spinning this new tough fibre saw little success using existing machinery.^[27] In 1832, Mr Neish persuaded James Watt Jnr. to ‘make trial of ten bales.‘^[27] Through Watt’s inventiveness, foresight and perseverance, he was able to present the town’s spinners with a fibre which had been torn down and teased or formed into tow, which proved to have better results in the spinning.^[27] A year later, on 31st August 1833, Messrs Andrew Low & Son, bought 140 bales at £16 10s a ton, of a consignment brought to Dundee by Mr Watt (as did a small number of other firms).^[27] It was to prove quite some time before jute finally found recognition with the spinners and manufacturers of the town.

Accidents within and around mills and factories were not uncommon occurrences. However, Hillbank Linen Works became the location for a rather grisly case of suspected infanticide. An overseer discovered a black object floating on top of one of the ponds. On being retrieved, the bundle was found to contain the body of a child. It was surmised that clearly, this had been no accidental death, as a stone or somesuch had been attached to the child’s neck in order to keep it under the water.^[28]

In 1866,^[8] Alexander Low, in his early 60s, was described as having been ‘diligent and successful in business,’^[19] found himself to be in a position to purchase the handsome estate of Butterstone in Perthshire.^[8] It was there that he spent the summer and autumn months,^[19] enjoying his 700-800 acres near Dunkeld.

Having been active in business and public life in Dundee until the 1860s, Alexander Low devoted his later years to the management of charitable organisations and spent more of his time at his estate of Butterstone. His son and business partner, Andrew Beharie Low, succeeded to the Butterstone estate.

In 1894, Alexander Low’s daughter in law presented the Directors of Dundee Lunatic Asylum (one of his favoured institutions) with a photograph of her father in law, to be hung in the boardroom of the institution.^[29]