Several members of the society gathered in Stratford-on-Slaney on the evening of Thursday 21 August 2025 to hear about and discover traces of the village’s unusual history. Our guide Sarah Gillespie, who is also a member of the society, and in association with Baltinglass Tidy Towns Committee, led us to various locations connected with the large cotton and calico printing factory which flourished there from late 1780s until the early 1850s. Edward Stratford (1736-1801), 2nd Earl of Aldborough established what was to become his model industrial town on a hill above the river Slaney. He sufficiently astute to not attempt the run the enterprise himself and by the 1790s the entire printing works had been leased to Messrs Orr Smith & Co, originally from Paisley in Scotland.
We learned that the town was laid out in a double crescent plan. The crescent shape in urban design was innovative at the time and echoed the layout of the town of Bath in England. It included an octagonal-shaped square, joined by a street to the Circle, with other (including Baltinglass street, Chapel street, Dublin street and Church street), three churches and 400 stone houses. The principal house was called ‘Mount Amiens’ and had 14 rooms, a walled garden, greenhouses and offices. As we stood in the lovely, tranquil village we tried to imagine a bustling industrial town of a bygone era. Finally, we walked to the site of the factory, close to the Slaney where Sarah concluded her talk. Apart from a large space enclosed by substantial walls, and some ruins, very little now remains of the printing factory and its mill.
We very much appreciate Sarah’s sharing of her extensive research into this fascinating aspect of the history of West Wicklow and we thank the Wilson family for accommodating us.
Photo: Part of our group in the beautiful village of Stratford on Slaney