Volunteers at Paisley’s thread Mill museum are appealing for help to build a special display case for a unique model ship they have been gifted.
The intricate five-foot long vessel is made entirely of thread bobbins, and the Mill museum is keen to have it on display for visitors to enjoy. However, due to its size, it will need to be displayed safely.
They are now hoping a local community group or business will be able to help them create something for the item – which was gifted to them by the Coats office when it closed its premises in the town last year.
Volunteer Clarke Wallace, 78, told the Paisley Daily Express: “It really is a spectacular model as it is made entirely of bobbins and it is over five feet long and four feet high – so it really is an example of excellent workmanship.
“We are delighted to have been gifted this and would love to have it on display, but because of the layout of the museum it just wouldn’t be safe for us to try and display it without a proper case.
“We are hoping someone with some knowledge in building and woodwork will be able to help us as we would love for people to be able to come and admire it.”
The volunteers do not know what kind of ship the model is, or if it is based on a real vessel related to the famous Paisley Coats family.
The Coats family were fundamental to the town’s world-famous thread industry, which is one of Paisley’s most prominent features in its vast historical catalogue.
It started with James Coats, who built a small thread factory behind his house in Ferguslie, Paisley, in 1826, that grew into the world’s largest public company at the turn of the twentieth century.
It is now a billion-pound global enterprise, Coats plc, the world’s largest supplier of industrial thread, but it is owned by the London-based investment firm Guinness Peat Group.
Since it began in 1826, the Coats family have had many links with shipping, including funding an expedition to Antarctica in 1904, resulting in an area of the vast icy plains being names Coats Land.
Sir Thomas Glen Coats was also an Olympic sailor, and won a gold medal in the 1908 Olympic Games.
Clarke added: “We do know that the Coats family did have numerous links to shipping over the years, however, we are not sure if this model is related to any of these points in history.
“We would love to shed some more light on it for when we are able to finally have it on display.”
The volunteers are keen to find out more about the ship and if there is any significance to the Coats family and Paisley’s history.
They are appealing to any historians or local history buffs who may be able to shed light on the model to get in touch.
Clarke added: “We would be entirely grateful to anyone who can help us with this."
People can get in touch by emailing paisleythreadmm@outlook.com
Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
