The Scottish Lion

  • a Lion Foundry 1
  • b Lion Foundry 2
  • c Lion Foundry 4
  • d Lion Foundry 5
  • e Lion Foundry 6
  • f Lion Foundry 7
  • g Lion Foundry 8
  • h Lion Foundry 9
  • i Lion Foundry 3
  • j Lion Foundry 10

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In 1880 an iron foundry was established on the north bank of the Forth & Clyde Canal. Established in Kirkintilloch by 3 former employees of Walter Macfarlane’s Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Robert Hudson, an orders clerk, James Jackson, a salesman and Robert Brown, a fitter, they also took another defector from Macfarlane, Cuthbert, and initially traded under the name Jackson, Brown, Hudson and Cuthbert. They adopted the firm’s more familiar name, the Lion Foundry, in 1885. As well as being next to the canal the site was also adjacent to the Campsie Branch Railway, and was chosen with a view to receiving the delivery of raw materials by canal vessel and sending out finished products by rail.

Lion Foundry work can be found all across the United Kingdom from Banff to Belfast, they also shipped work around the world. A truly remarkable achievement. Next time you are walking along Main street in Kirkintilloch look out for the red telephone box. A great but perhaps unexpected example of Lion Foundry work!