James Templeton & Co

[2] In 1823 he moved to Liverpool, and soon after he obtained a lucrative post in Mexico where he made enough money to return to Scotland and start his own business in 1826.

In 1837, through contact with another shawl manufacturer, William Quiglay, a new process was invented for processing chenille, a standard fabric for shawls, into compact C-shaped tufts which were both very soft and preserved their shape very well, enabling complex patterns to be created, and Templeton immediately saw this as ideal for carpet manufacture.

[5] The company also had its own recreational facilities in Rutherglen[6] which are mostly now playing fields for the local high school, although the bowling club bearing the Templeton name at that location continues on its own.

The company was bought by a British/Malaysian manufacturing and plantation group, the Guthrie Corporation, and briefly traded under the name of "British Carpets" but could not survive.

In 1981, the rights to use the name "James Templeton & Co" were purchased by their former rivals, "Stoddard & Co" who had begun carpet production in 1864 and a new factory was built in Elderslie.