A Short History Of The Haven

“When setting up this web site we felt that it would not be complete without a brief history of the family who originally built our home. As you read through these history pages, we hope you will see why we are proud to have this tenuous link to a family who accomplished so much in their lifetime through hard work & determination.” The Malcolmson Family: David Malcolmson started out with nothing but ambition, brains and determination. He was a member of the Society of Friends and a Carrick based flour miller. He established a cotton-spinning mill on what was essentially a green field site at Portlaw, County Waterford in 1825. When the factory was completed it measured 260ft by 40ft. And was considered the largest single span building in the world. It is said that there were 365 windows in the cotton factory. This was the greatest factory of its kind in Europe. David Malcolmson employed over 1,500 at the mill a fantastic number in those days. By 1840 the factory was bleaching, dying, printing, spinning and weaving cotton and exporting it all over the world. According to Tom Hunts study “Portlaw, county Waterford 1825-18762 (Irish Academic Press) The original village of Portlaw in the 1820s was a group of about 70 cabins. Here the Quaker Malcolmson was beginning what hunt calls his most spectacular business venture. Housing was the corollary of opening a factory in this area. With the factory in production, the Malcolmson and their manager Robert Shaw methodically re-planned the village of Portlaw. Houses of a very distinctive type were built for the workers to be let at a low rent. The factory town was laid out in the shape of a hand or rays of the sun. A single policeman could stand in the square and observe the whole village. Many of these houses can still be seen and are still in good condition. They have a semi-flat roof, with a timber truss, covered with tarred cloth, which became known as “Portlaw roof”. It was not idyllic: the workers really worked, from 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening- men women and children (although the children would not be paid if they had not attended school for the required number of hours) in the ceaseless round of labour necessary to keep the operation profitable. Yet the factory was properly built, with proper safety precautions, well lighted and ventilated. The workers were encouraged to keep themselves clean and well dressed. A girl entering employment here was given a hairbrush and comb. Her wedding gift was bed linen. Malcolmson Bros.