Peter Scott was the son of George Scott, grocer at 19 Howegate. His brother Tom was Cornet in 1887. Peter started work aged 13 for Peter Laidlaw at Wilton Grove, eventually taking over the small frame shop. He founded Peter Scott Knitwear in 1878 as a partnership with his uncle, Peter Adamson, who had a stocking shop in Drumlanrig Place. The company was based in the Tabernacle (a redundant church) from 1881 to 1893, and moved to Buccleuch Street in 1893, acquiring the former premises of the Commercial Bank. Peter Scott split from Adamson in 1884 to create his own company.
The expansion of the company after that was explosive, especially following the innovation of Pesco’s underwear in 1899. He was Chairman of the Scottish Hosiery Association, and served on several committees during WW1. He was also President of the Hawick Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association, and a Director of the South of Scotland Manufacturers’ Mutual Insurance Co. Ltd.
The now familiar Pesco’s factory in Buccleuch Street was built in stages and largely completed by 1913, with the JP Alison designed west block added a decade later. The factory retains its octagonal chimney, the only one in the Borders with its original top cornice.
There were also satellite mills in Wilton Path, specialising in sports coats, and in Commercial Road (opened 1916), specialising in hosiery. The Buccleuch Street factory was devoted to wartime production for the troops during WW1, and supplied the ill-fated Shackleton expedition of 1914. At that time it was described as the biggest firm of its kind in Scotland, employing more than 800 people. Later the firm moved production from hosiery, to knitwear and sportswear. The Commercial Road buildings were used as a billet in 1939 and in 1945 a canteen was opened in the main factory.
The Wilton Path factory closed its doors in 1954, though the nursery for employees ran until 1958. Numbers 16 to 18 Howegate were sold in 1956. A factory was built in Kelso in 1961 and another at Chirnside in 1974 (sold in 1981). Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited during the Pesco’s centenary year in 1978. Although the company went into arbitration in 2010, it was saved from closing by English firm Gloverall.
Peter Scott Knitwear ceased production on Sunday August 28, 2016, after almost 150 years of operating in Hawick – a sad end to a once proud, locally-owned company. It is said that Peter was well liked in Hawick and was fiercely proud of his ‘guitterbluid’ heritage. He died suddenly while on holiday in the south of France in 1925, and his funeral was one of the largest seen in the town
The expansion of the company after that was explosive, especially following the innovation of Pesco’s underwear in 1899. He was Chairman of the Scottish Hosiery Association, and served on several committees during WW1. He was also President of the Hawick Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association, and a Director of the South of Scotland Manufacturers’ Mutual Insurance Co. Ltd.
The now familiar Pesco’s factory in Buccleuch Street was built in stages and largely completed by 1913, with the JP Alison designed west block added a decade later. The factory retains its octagonal chimney, the only one in the Borders with its original top cornice.
There were also satellite mills in Wilton Path, specialising in sports coats, and in Commercial Road (opened 1916), specialising in hosiery. The Buccleuch Street factory was devoted to wartime production for the troops during WW1, and supplied the ill-fated Shackleton expedition of 1914. At that time it was described as the biggest firm of its kind in Scotland, employing more than 800 people. Later the firm moved production from hosiery, to knitwear and sportswear. The Commercial Road buildings were used as a billet in 1939 and in 1945 a canteen was opened in the main factory.
The Wilton Path factory closed its doors in 1954, though the nursery for employees ran until 1958. Numbers 16 to 18 Howegate were sold in 1956. A factory was built in Kelso in 1961 and another at Chirnside in 1974 (sold in 1981). Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited during the Pesco’s centenary year in 1978. Although the company went into arbitration in 2010, it was saved from closing by English firm Gloverall.
Peter Scott Knitwear ceased production on Sunday August 28, 2016, after almost 150 years of operating in Hawick – a sad end to a once proud, locally-owned company. It is said that Peter was well liked in Hawick and was fiercely proud of his ‘guitterbluid’ heritage. He died suddenly while on holiday in the south of France in 1925, and his funeral was one of the largest seen in the town
