Opening our doors in 2008 we specialise in supplying the ‘world famous’ Scottish Holland fabric and manufacturing Heritage roller blinds that are used in many National Trust properties and stately homes around the UK.

We source all our products in the UK and pride our self on the quality and service offered.

The Scotch Holland 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 hung out to dry in the fields. Picture if you can, some Dutchman sitting in a theatre in Amsterdam, looking idly at the linen stage curtains as it rose and fell, when suddenly the idea of a window blind made from Holland cloth struck him. Little would he think that his invention would cast its shade over the whole world, if you excuse the pun!!

Actual records of the manufacturer of Scotch Holland fabric go back to Glasgow in 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 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 sill and was raised to cover the window by a cord dropping back. This system prevailed for several years until someone invented a roller with a flange end, but this still had to be secured to a cleat. It is not known exactly when the modern day spring was invented, except that it was well into the 19th century. It is known, however, that it was very slow to become popular as people did not trust the new fangled spring.

The earliest manufacturer of Scottish Holland material still chose to use the authentic heavy-duty Dutch Linen, which was then bleached, dyed and heavily starched. Whilst still wet the cloth was layered between sheets of brown paper and then wound around great dying cylinders above which were suspended heavily beating bars of solid wood. These bars measure 4 – 5 inches square and were 12 feet long. The beaters were rounded at the end to strike the cloth without damage and were commonly known by the workers as ‘beetles’. The ‘beetles’ gantry consisted of a row of 30 – 40 of the wooden bars and an enormous power driven camshaft 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 three to four days. The beating process made the fibres of the cloth spread and gave 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, rewetted and reversed mounted onto the dying drums to be given another 3 – 4 days pounding.

In this way the unique ‘Scottish Holland’ fabric was achieved, a cloth that is renowned for its finish and durability. The whole process took approximately ten days and the widest fabric produced was 112 inches. The name ‘Scottish 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 perate the blind. Brass pins were inserted effectively made the look of the fixing brackets.

The development of alternatives for the mass market and the high cost of production by traditional methods led to the ‘beetling’ finish being replaced in 1975 by passing the material through heavy steel rollers under pressure to give the glazed finish.

We are the only blind supplier in the UK able to do this process.