Tommy’s got plans for 20 tonnes of it

A mountain of blonde sandstone f rom a demolished home – that was once part of Paisley’s threadmaking history – is ready to be transformed into gate posts and chimneys.

The mammoth 20 tonnes of gorgeous stone is currently stacked up at West Coast Reclamation in Paisley’s Underwood Road.

Tommy Unsworth, who runs the reclamation yard, said around 80 tonnes actually came from the demolition job in Hunterhill Road.

He explained: “We don’t have room for all of it, so we bought 20 tonnes. And we have got another 15 to 20 tonnes lying here from other jobs.

“What we do is cut it into windowsills, hand- carved fire surrounds, gate posts and chimney stacks.

“It came from a building in Hunterhill Road - one that was possibly owned by the Coats family. It was a huge house... an old sandstone villa.”

Paisley has a rich mill history and the Anchor Mills are arguably the best- known of the town’s mills, and the main building still stands as a proud beacon in the heart of town, on the banks of White Cart Water.

It was started by the Clark family, who began manufacturing cotton thread on the north side of the River Cart, close to the Hammils, in 1812.

The other major name in the industry was the Coats family after, in 1826, James Coats built a small thread factory behind his house, in Back Row, Ferguslie, now known as Maxwellton Road.

Eventually, the two families worked together and in 1896 it was announced Clark & Co and J & P Coats Limited would amalgamate under the Coats name.

Tommy, who has five stonemasons working with him, added: “None of this sandstone will go to waste.

“The demolition company will make sure it is all used for things like garden rockeries.”