In the late 1830's a local landowner, Alexander Reid, saw the opportunity to produce a special type of cheviot cloth. He realised that he had all the essentials around him - fine Cheviot wool from the surrounding hills, soft clear water from the river Wauchope and a nucleus of hard working craftsmen.

His mill flourished and expanded rapidly, so much so that he invited Joseph Taylor, a financier to join him, thus creating the firm of Reid and Taylor. The company over the next 80 years establishing valuable trade links throughout the world.

It was in the early 1930's, with the arrival of Robbie Scott Hay - a man with exceptional breadth of vision and dynamic personality - that Reid and Taylor developed to become a major force in the textile industry. He radically re-organised the firm's distribution, leaving only a limited number of clients whose requirements he could personally service. At the same time, he pursued an innovative policy of design and colour in fine twist worsted cloths.

These activities form the basis of the company's philosophy which endures today.