FAIFLEY
David Carson, writing on the Clydebank Local History Society website gives us an interesting description of Faifley. See the link below for the full article.
In the transfers of land from the ownership from the Earls of Lennox to the Monks of Paisley Abbey in 1227 the area was called Fimbalach, possibly meaning ‘the white pass’. In 1587 it becomes Ferchlay and by 1594, Fachla.Regardless of derivation it is obvious that Faifley has been a settlement for a very long time. The name originally referred to the area around Cochno Road, north of Hardgate and between the West (Loch Humphrey) Burn and East (Cochno) Burn. These two burns unite at the Hardgate Mill and become the Duntocher Burn. Evidence of man’s prehistoric settlement in the area was found at Auchnacraig in 1887 when the Rev. James Harvey discovered the Druid or Cochno Stone. This sandstone rock, some 60 feet in diameter has, possibly, the finest ‘cup and ring’ carvings in existence. See COCHNO STONES, Auchnacraig, Faifley This was covered over for protection but other smaller cup and ring marked rocks are still visible in that area. Another prehistoric relic, the remains of the Cairnhowat burial cairn, can be seen north of the Cochno and Jaw Lochs.
The most valuable lands near Faifley were the estates of Cochno, Edinbarnet and Law. Prior to the Reformation they were, like many Kilpatrick properties, transferred from the ownership of Paisley Abbey to the Hamilton family. Andrew Hamilton Governor of Dumbarton castle and Provost of Glasgow acquired Cochno in 1550 but lost it after siding with Queen Mary at the battle of Langside in 1568. By 1592 the Crown restored the estates to the Hamiltons. [Carson].
Wikipedia tells us the following. You will note an overlap with the history of Duntocher in particular with respect to the industries developed by William Dunn:
Faifley's first industries were attracted to the area by the opportunity to harness the water-power provided by the Loch Humphrey Burn and the Cochno Burn. A waulk mill (mentioned in charters of 1643) and a dye works were in existence when William Dunn (1760–1849) purchased the Faifley Cotton Spinning Co in 1811. Dunn had four large cotton mills on the burn and introduced the first steam engines at Faifley by 1836, at which time he was employing 1,400 workers. The American Civil War resulted in a collapse of Britain's cotton trade with the US in the 1860s and led to the closure of all but one of the mills.
Faifley Mill was eventually converted to a furniture factory by Glasgow manufacturer Solomon Levy Abrahams (b. Zajac from Bialystok) (understood to have been the first to introduce mechanisation to furniture making in Scotland)and became known as the "Jew's Mill". The tenement on Cochno Road at the "Conkrey Dam" was called Abrahams' Land, or "The Jew's Laun'". The manufacture of furniture was continued by J K Arthur & Co, managed by a Mr Strump. After the Second World War, the premises were occupied by Dairyority, a small company making and repairing dairy and refrigeration equipment. The last owners were the bakers MacKechnie's Rolls, employing 150 people until the bakery closed in 1991 and the old mill buildings were demolished to make way for housing.
Other small industries existed in Faifley. James Marr's Faifley Spade Forge survived on the West Burn until the 1880s. This may have been a remnant of the Dalnotter Iron Works founded a century before at Milton Mill. The mill lade can be seen behind Hillcrest Avenue. There was also a pottery and another forge on the Cochno Burn. [Wiki].
CARSON, DAVID - CLYDEBANK LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY : https://www.clydebankhistory.org/conc/index.php/clydebank-history/neighbourhoods/faifley/
HERITAGE TRAIL Hardgate and Faifley Heritage Trail. https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/media/2619071/duntocher.pdf
WIKIPEDIA : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faifley
