J. Pullar and Sons Ltd. (also known as J. & J. Pullar and Pullars of Perth) was a

dyeworks A dye is a wiktionary:colored, colored substance that chemically bonds to the wikt:substrate, substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally ...

based in

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

. It was founded by John Pullar in 1824 in Perth's Little Pomarium district and pioneered the first

synthetic dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

s. ''Pullars of Perth'' signs eventually appeared outside 7,552 agents across Britain. When the company began in 1824, at its premises in Burt's Close, it had six employees. Initially, the company dyed cloth for Pullar's father's clothing company but also provided dyeing and laundry services for the public. The company relocated to 36 Mill Street, in the centre of Perth, in 1828, and benefitted from the arrival of trains around fifteen years later. New premises were established on Kinnoull Street in 1848.''‘There is only one P in Perth - And, it stands for Pullars!: the Labour, Trade-Union, and Co-operative Movements in Perth, c. 1867 to c. 1922''
-

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

In 1851, the company exhibited at the Great Exhibition in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and received the patronage of Queen Victoria the following year, thereafter being by appointment to the Queen.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Sir Robert Pullar In 1865, the premises on Mill Street were rebuilt and named North British Dyeworks. The building stands today as Pullar House, the home of Perth and Kinross Council. In 1867, Pullars became the first dry cleaning business in Scotland."Volunteer researchers reveal history of Pullar House workers who perished in WWI ahead of centenary service"
- '' The Courier'', 28 February 2020 (Pullar's daughter-in-law Adelgunde Spindler was the daughter of

Wilhelm Spindler Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

, who invented the benzene method of dry cleaning.) A large works was established in the

Tulloch Tulloch may refer to: People with the surname *Alexander Bruce Tulloch (1838–1920), Major-general in the British Army, author *Bert Tulloch, English footballer *Bitsie Tulloch, American actress *Francis Tulloch (born 1940), Jamaican politician ...

area of Perth in 1883. Bracken Brae occupies this site today. John Pullar died in 1878, aged 75.John Pullar (1803–1878)
- ''The Courier & Advertiser'', 7 June 2016''The Scottish Law Reporter: Containing Reports ... of Cases Decided in the Court of Session, Court of Justiciary, Court of Teinds, and House of Lords, Volume 16''
- W. & R. A. Veitch (1879) Conflict between the family and the unions contributed the company's gradual decline. It was taken over by Eastman of London in 1917, but it kept trading as J. Pullar & Sons, Dryers & Cleaners. Reconstruction of the dyeworks was carried out, to a design by

Robert Matthew Mitchell Robert Matthew Mitchell (27 May 1847 – 28 September 1949) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th. He designed several notable buildings in Perthshire, several of which are now of ...

. Another company, Perth Dyeworks, was in operation in the early 20th century. Located on Dunkeld Road, it was owned by P. & P. Campbell.''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 14

Gallery

File:Pullar's door plate.jpg, This plate, on the door of the Morris & Son's General Cambrian Establishment Drapers in High Street,

Barmouth Barmouth ( cy, Abermaw (formal); ''Y Bermo'' (colloquial)) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Gwynedd, northwestern Wales, lying on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the Historic coun ...

, Wales, reads 'Goods received for Pullars of Perth cleaners and dyers' File:Old Pullar's dyeworks, Perth.jpg, Pullar's former Mill Street building

References

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External links

SPW020098 SCOTLAND (1927). J Pullar and Sons Ltd. Dye Works, St Catherine's Road, Perth. An oblique aerial photograph taken facing east
- Britain from Above 1824 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Perth, Scotland Dry cleaning Dyes Laundry businesses