As I’ve been cleaning and cataloguing the wooden planes from the toolbox I recently bought, two maker’s stamps kept appearing: David Malloch & Son and A. Mathieson & Sons. The Mathieson planes weren’t a surprise—Mathieson seems to have been the most common wooden planemaker exporting to Australia. But the Malloch planes piqued my interest, and a bit of digging revealed a fascinating web of connections between several major Scottish planemakers.
What follows is a timeline of those connections, drawn mainly from Goodman’s British Planemakers (4th Edition) and supplemented with various online sources.
The Story Begins: Stewart of Edinburgh (1774)
One of the earliest makers represented in my toolbox is John Stewart, whose mark appears on one of my moulding planes. The Stewart family spanned several generations of planemaking:
- John Stewart (1774–1798)
- John & Son (1799–1822)
- James & Sons (1823–1836) — likely James being John’s son
- William Stewart (1837–1844) — probably James’s son
- Jas. & Wm. (1845–1849)
By the later years, Stewart had become the largest planemaker in Edinburgh. In 1849, however, the firm was taken over by T.A. Mathieson & Co.
An interesting footnote: one of Stewart’s employees was David Malloch, a name that resurfaces in Perth as an important figure in this story.
Glasgow Enters the Picture: John Manners (1792–1822)
Moving west to Glasgow, we encounter John Manners, a master planemaker active from 1792 to 1822. He was known for his sophisticated multi-iron planes—none of which, sadly, appear in my toolbox.
Manners is important here for three reasons:
- His works were located on Saracen Lane, Glasgow.
- One of his apprentices was Alexander (Alex.) Mathieson.
- Upon his retirement, his business premises were taken over by Alex. Mathieson in 1822.
That takes us directly to the powerhouse of Scottish planemaking.
Alex. Mathieson in Glasgow (from 1822)
Alex. Mathieson began in Glasgow at Gallowgate Street, but quickly moved to Manners’s old premises in Saracen Lane. After several productive years there, he moved further along the lane as his business grew.
Several planes in my collection bear the MATHIESON mark, dating them to the period between 1822 and 1853. The 1841 census even shows his son Thomas working with him as a journeyman planemaker.
Back to Edinburgh: T.A. Mathieson & Co. (from 1849)
In 1849, Alex. Mathieson acquired the Stewart business in Edinburgh. Instead of folding it under his own name, he put his son Thomas in charge and rebranded it T.A. Mathieson & Co.
I have a plane carrying this early Edinburgh mark.
In 1856, the Edinburgh branch underwent another rebranding, now operating as A. Mathieson & Son, usually stamped with Edinburgh to distinguish it from the Glasgow works.
Perth: The Malloch Connection (1825–1914)
Our story loops north to Perth, where John McGlashan ran a toolmaking business from 1825 until his death in 1849. The business was then taken over by his employee David Malloch, who—as mentioned earlier—had also previously worked at Stewart’s in Edinburgh.
One early Malloch mark reads:
“MALLOCH late of STEWART’S EDINH.”
This clearly trades on the Stewart name—likely an effort by Malloch to establish credibility as an independent maker.
The evolution of Malloch’s marks runs as follows:
- D. MALLOCH PERTH (1850–1878)
- D. MALLOCH & SON PERTH (1878–1913)
Their premises became known as The Perth Plane Works, and I have quite a few planes from both periods.
In 1914, the Perth works closed. The Mathieson company purchased the Malloch name and continued producing planes under the Malloch brand from their Glasgow factory.
The Rise of A. Mathieson & Son (1854–1900 and beyond)
The Mathieson family continued consolidating their influence. In 1854, Alexander and his son Thomas jointly operated the business across both Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Edinburgh branch lasted until 1900.
The Glasgow works remained the heart of the operation. In 1854, they relocated from Saracen Lane but kept the historical tie by branding the factory as The Saracen Tool Works. During this period, Mathieson expanded aggressively and claimed that the Saracen Works had been operating since 1792—folding the legacy of John Manners into their own corporate identity.
An interesting aside: the grand sketch of the Saracen Tool Works used in their advertising wasn’t actually an image of the real factory.
When Thomas died in 1899, the business became Alexander Mathieson & Sons, Ltd, run by Thomas’s two sons. By this time, Mathieson had become the most prolific British planemaker, and a sizeable portion of my own collection bears their marks—some from Glasgow, some from Edinburgh.
Sorting them precisely will require a closer look at the individual stamps.
Closing Thoughts
What started as a simple effort to catalogue the planes from a newly acquired toolbox turned into a deep dive through 140 years of intertwined Scottish toolmaking history. The Stewart family, John Manners, the Mathiesons, and the Mallochs weren’t just contemporaries—they were part of a tightly connected lineage that shaped the wooden plane trade across Britain and, eventually, Australia.
Below is a schematic showing the links and timelines discussed in this post.
