Jute Growing

Jute is a fibre produced from the bark of the genus corchorus family. The fibre is often referred to as gunny-fibre or hessian. It was a very important export from India and was manufactured in India and Great Britain. Dundee was the UK end of the Indian Jute Trade and the University has a lot of data, including lists of people (mostly Scotsmen) involved in the Jute Trade in India.

A List of Jute Mills in India

(compiled by Andrew Ramsay Nicholl and Jimmie Robertson of the Tay Valley Family History Society)

Albion Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 340

Alexandra Jute Mill Agents 1917, Begg, Dunlop & Co Number of Looms 1917, 396

Alipur Jute Mill (Alipur Jail) Agents 1917, Government Number of Looms 1917, 50

Alliance Jute Mill Agents 1917, Begg, Dunlop & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1002

Anglo-India Jute Mill Agents 1917, Duncan, Brothers Number of Looms 1917, 2000

Angus Jute Mill Agents 1917, Angus Jute Mill Co Ltd Number of Looms 1917, 660

Asiatic Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Auckland Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 460

Balliaghatta Jute Mill Agents 1917, James Luke & Sons Number of Looms 1917, 177

Bally Jute Mill Agents 1917, George Henderson & Co Number of Looms 1917, 541

Barnagore Jute Mill Agents 1917, George Henderson & Co Number of Looms 1917, 2275

Belvedere Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 400

Budge Budge Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 782

Calcutta Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Caledonian Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 350

Champdany Jute Mill Agents 1917, James Finlay & Co Ltd Number of Looms 1917, 494

Champdany Jute Mill, Wellington Branch Agents 1917, James Finlay & Co Ltd Number of Looms 1917, 577

Clive Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 868

Dalhousie Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 704

Delta Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 610

Empire Jute Mill Agents 1917, McLeod & Co Number of Looms 1917, 400

Fort Gloster Jute Mill Agents 1917, Kettlewell, Bullen & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1350

Fort William Jute Mill Agents 1917, Kettlewell, Bullen & Co Number of Looms 1917, 900

Ganges Jute Mill Agents 1917, MacNeil & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1294

Gondalpara Jute Mill Agents 1917, Gillanders, Arbuthnot & Co Number of Looms 1917, 360

Gourepore Jute Mill Agents 1917, Barry & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1255

Hastings Jute Mill Agents 1917, Birkmyre Brothers Number of Looms 1917, 1052

Hoogly Jute Mill Agents 1917, Gillanders, Arbuthnot & Co Number of Looms 1917, 454

Howrah Jute Mill Agents 1917, Howeson Brothers Ltd Number of Looms 1917, 1663

India Jute Mill Agents 1917, MacKinnon Mackenzie Co Number of Looms 1917, 1033

Kamarhatty Jute Mill Agents 1917, Jardine, Skinner & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1710

Kanknarrah Jute Mill Agents 1917, Jardine, Skinner & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1521

Kelvin Jute Mill Agents 1917, McLeod & Co Number of Looms 1917, 600

Khardah Jute Mill Agents 1917, Anderson, Wright & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1370

Kinnison Jute Mill, near Barrackpore, Calcutta Agents 1917, F W Heilgers & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1221

Lansdowne Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 870

Lawrence Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 704

Ludlow Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Naihati Jute Mill Agents 1917, F W Heilgers & Co Number of Looms 1917, 430

Narcoldanga Jute Mill Agents 1917, James Park & Co Number of Looms 1917, 16

National Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 611

New Central Jute Mill Agents 1917, Andrew Yule & Co Number of Looms 1917, 586

Northbrook Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 544

Oriental Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Reliance Jute Mill Agents 1917, Howeson Brothers Ltd Number of Looms 1917, 1000

Rustomgee Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Samnuggar Jute Mill, near Calcutta Agents 1917, Thomas Duff & Co Number of Looms 1880, 313; 1907, 922; 1917, 1572

Seebpore Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Serajgunge Jute Mill (now in Bangladesh) Agents Number of Looms

Soorah Jute Mill Agents 1917, McLeod & Co Number of Looms 1917, 175

Standard Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 640

Titaghur Jute Mill, near Calcutta Agents 1917, Thomas Duff & Co Number of Looms 1907, 1700; 1917, 1718

Union Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 504

Union South Jute Mill Agents 1917, Bird & Co Number of Looms 1917, 650

Victoria Jute Mill, near Calcutta Agents 1917, Thomas Duff & Co Number of Looms 1917, 1053

A List of Jute Mills in Bangladesh

(compiled by Andrew Ramsay Nicholl and Jimmie Robertson of the Tay Valley Family History Society)

Afil Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Ahad Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Ahmed Jutex Mills Agents Number of Looms

Ajax Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Al-Haj Aminuddin Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Aleem Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

A R A Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Asiatic Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Bengal Jute Industries Agents Number of Looms

Barisal Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Carpeting Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Charmuguria Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Chittagong Fibres Agents Number of Looms

Crescent Jute Mills, Town Khalishpur, Khulna District, Bangladesh Built in 1954, full address: Crescent Jute Mills Co Ltd, PO Box 2, Town Khalishpur, Khulna District, Bangladesh

Agents Number of Looms

Daulatpur Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Delta Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Eastern Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Faridpur Jute Fibres Agents Number of Looms

Hamidia Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Hussain Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Islam Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Islam Khan Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Jessore Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Jute Spinners Agents Number of Looms

Kwality Jute Yarn Mills Agents Number of Looms

Lytton Jute Industries Agents Number of Looms

Mutual Jute Spinners Agents Number of Looms

Modern Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Nawab Abdul Malek Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

New Dacca Jute Industries Agents Number of Looms

Nissan Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Noapara Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Northern Jute Manufacturing Company Agents Number of Looms

Patuakhali Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Peoples Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Perojpur Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Platinum Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Popular Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

R K Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Sadat Jute Industries Agents Number of Looms

Sarwar Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Sagar Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Saleh Jute Industries Agents Number of Looms

Shine Pukur Jute Spinners Agents Number of Looms

Shamsher Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Sonali Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Sonali Aansh Industries Agents Number of Looms

Specialised Jute Yarn and Twine Manufacturing Company Agents Number of Looms

Star Jute Mills Agents Number of Looms

Star Alkaid Jute Mill Agents Number of Looms

Transocean Fibres Processors Agents Number of Looms

Usha Jute Spinners Agents Number of Looms

Summary Of Holdings Relating To The Indian Subcontinent held at Dundee University

• MS 11 BAXTER BROTHERS, LINEN AND JUTE MANUFACTURERS, DUNDEE.

  Brief genealogical notes concerning engineer at Seranjgunge Jute Co. Ltd, late 1800s; Representatives Report Books - India 1927.

• MS 31 DR. RUTH YOUNG, C.B.E. (1884?1983)

  Description of voyage on board S.S. Narkunda, from Bombay to Liverpool, taken from journal, 1940.

• MS 38 HERBERT WATT TORRANCE, MEDICAL MISSIONARY (1892?1977)

  Postcards of India: Kanchanjunga range, South India, Benares/Cawnpore, Agra-Delhi-Fatephur Sikri. c.1930s.

• MS 42 GIDDINGS & LEWIS?FRASER LTD, ENGINEERS ARBROATH, INCORPORATING DOUGLAS FRASER & SONS LTD, LINEN AND JUTE MANUFACTURERS

  Includes papers relating to business in India 1875?1963.

• MS 45 LEWIS C. GRANT, ENGINEERS, DYSART (FIFE), INCORPORATING DOUGLAS & GRANT

  Letter books and correspondence files, including technical data, 1892?1956 - includes file: "Rice Mill Data, Tanjore, Madras, South India, Calcutta" 1911-1926, “Report on the Industrial Development of Bengal” 1915, memoranda books, diaries relating to overseas tours including India 1924 and 1935.

• MS 66 SIDLAW INDUSTRIES, MEADOW PLACE BUILDINGS, DUNDEE
  • MS 66/II COX BROTHERS LTD, JUTE SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, DUNDEE

  Private letter book No 1, 1869-1893: contains many letters relating to Calcutta business; pass book with branches of the Chartered Bank of India 1906-1921; also a history of the Camperdown Jute Mill, Calcutta.

  • MS 66/X SIDLAW INDUSTRIES LTD, PREVIOUSLY JUTE INDUSTRIES LTD, DUNDEE.

  Correspondence relating to Dundee and Calcutta hessian business 1928; photograph of floor plan of Camperdown Press, Cossipore.

  • MS 66/XI MISCELLANEOUS ASSOCIATED AFFILIATED AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES OF JUTE INDUSTRIES LTD

  Includes records relating to Jute Industries Limited Calcutta Agency 1909-1947, and Camperdown Pressing Company, Calcutta 1923-1942.

• MS 73 JOHN P. INGRAM (d.1984), SHIPPING CORRESPONDENT

  Shipping notebooks, with some reference to Bombay trade, Calcutta etc. 19 C, 20 C.

• MS 82 WILSON FAMILY PAPERS

  Papers relating to shares in the Mysore Gold Mining Company 1919,1921.

• MS 83 THE JUTE IMPORTERS ASSOCIATION

• MS 84 ASSOCIATION OF JUTE SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS

  Photographs include Lawrence Jute Mill, Calcutta, 1921.

• MS 86 A. & S. HENRY & CO. LTD
  • MS 86/I SAMNUGGUR JUTE FACTORY CO. LTD, SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, CALCUTTA

  Minute books 1874?1976, shareholding records 1912?1966, ledgers 1933?1959, cash books 1935?1966, journal 1924?1975, balance sheets 1919?1976, annual reports 1904?1958, memoranda and articles of association 1874?1976, employees' records 1913?1950, order books 1926?1964, specifications, quotations and price lists 1874?c.1900, plans c.1874?1977 [140] and technical drawings 1874?1896 [27], photographs c.1890?1971 [54].

  • MS 86/II VICTORIA JUTE FACTORY CO. LTD, SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, CALCUTTA

  Minute books 1892?1976, shareholding records 1883?1906 and 1919?1947, ledgers 1930?1972, cash books 1935?1964, journal 1924?1973, balance sheets 1918?1977, annual reports 1884?1958, 1965, memoranda and articles of association 1883?1979, letter books 1928?1982, employees' records 1925?1961, order books 1922?1964, plans 1928 and 1941?1973 [23], photographs c.1890 and 1957 [4].

  • MS 86/III TITAGHUR JUTE FACTORY CO. LTD, SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, CALCUTTA

  Minute books 1883?1974, shareholding records 1918?1969, ledgers 1931?1972, cash books 1932?1979, balance sheets 1884?1906, 1924?1976, annual reports 1900?1958, memoranda and articles of association 1883?1979, letter books 1928?1982, employees' records 1913?1956, miscellaneous technical records 1890?1897, plans 1878?1976 [123], technical drawings 1887?1897 [23], photographs c.1890?1910, c.1930?1950 [29].

  • MS 86/IV ANGUS COMPANY LTD, JUTE SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, TEXTILE ENGINEERS, CALCUTTA

  Cash books 1933?1972, journal 1934?1965, annual reports 1913?1970, memoranda and articles of association 1913?1969, letter book 1953?1967, employees' records 1933?1965, order books 1933?1963, sales notes 1956?1976, miscellaneous records c.1928?1977, plans and technical drawings 1968?1977 [8], photographs 1945?1957 [10].

  • MS 86/V THOMAS DUFF & CO. LTD, MANAGING AGENTS, DUNDEE AND CALCUTTA

  Minute books 1883?1945, ledgers 1930?1973, cash books 1922?1959, journals 1920?1954, balance sheets 1918?1950, memoranda and articles of association 1883?1964, letter books or files 1929?1968, managers' reports to directors 1930?1974, employees' records c.1913?1970, sales and production records 1945?1976, files relating to modernisation and electrification 1942?1971 and to company reconstruction 1947?1950, miscellaneous records 1880?1977, plans 1865?1923 [25], photographs c.1900?1970 [84].

  • MS 86/XXII INDIAN JUTE MILLS ASSOCIATION

  Reports of Committee 1935?1977, research institute: reports of committee 1943?1964, miscellaneous reports 1949?1966, statistics 1853?1964, chairman's addresses to A.G.Ms. 1973?1978, miscellaneous records 1949?1972.

  • MS 86/XXIII BENGAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

  Reports of committee 1949?1978, proceedings of annual general meetings 1953?1976, miscellaneous records 1853?1975.

• MS 89 JAMES F. LOW & CO. LTD, TEXTILE ENGINEERS, MONIFIETH

  Machinery records and order books, including references to customers in India and Pakistan 1870-1959, plans and drawings include various plans for Calcutta mills 1919-1920.

• MS 93 D.J. MACDONALD LTD, ENGINEERS, DUNDEE.

  Photograph of unidentified jute mill.

• MS 95 THOMSON SHEPHERD & CO., LTD, JUTE SPINNERS AND MANUFACTURERS, DUNDEE;

  Notebook including comparisons of spinning and weaving production and costs with Calcutta mills, late 18 C.; Jute and Gunny Statistics Vol III, Calcutta, 1938-1948.

• MS 107 CALCUTTA AND MOFUSSIL SCOTS SOCIETY

  Agendas, minutes 1954-1992, financial papers 1954-1976, papers relating to outings 1954-1992, miscellaneous secretarial files 1954-1971, photographs 1955-1988.

• MS 114 BRITISH JUTE TRADE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

  Publications including Annual Reports, Technical Reports and Bulletins 1948-1969, miscellaneous volumes 1867-1966, miscellaneous papers 1952-1992, photographs n.d.

• MS 249 THE G. RONALD CAMERON COLLECTION

  Includes photographs showing jute cultivation and preparation in India.

• MS 253 NORMAN SOUTAR PHOTOGRAPHS

  Photographs of Barnagore Cricket Club and Megna Mills staff.

More detailed information about our records relating to the Indian textile industry can be found at: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/archives/slindtexttop.htm

A full source list of material relating to India is available in the Archive Services search room.

Textile Industry and Other Books relating to the Indian subcontinent held in Dundee University Archives book collections

• Author: Stewart, Gordon T.

Title: Jute and Empire. The Calcutta Jute Wallahs and the landscape of Empire

Publication date: 1998

• Author: British-Continental Trade Press Ltd

Title: The Jute & Canvas Trades Year-Book & Directory

Publication date: 1946

• Author: Arnott, R.J. & Tysser, H.F.

Title: Jute Annual 1933

Publication date: 1933

• Author: Carter, William

Title: Carter's Flax, Hemp and Jute Year Book and Directory

Publication date: 1949

• Author: British-Continental Trade Press

Title: The Jute Year Book. The Annual and Directory of the Jute, Canvas and Linoleum Industries and Trade

Publication date: 1940

• Author: Commonwealth Economic Committee

Title: Jute Manufactures: A memorandum on production, prices and trade prepared in the Intelligence Branch of the Commonwealth Economic Committee

Publication date: 1955

• Author: International Labour Organisation

Title: Safety of Workers in the Textile Industry

Publication date: 1950

• Author: Government of Pakistan

Title: Report of the Jute Enquiry Commission

Publication date: 1960

• Author: Olbrecht, Urs

Title: The Indian Jute Industry from Colonial Times to the Present.

[Article].

Publication date:

• Author: Fraser, Eugenie

Title: A home by the Hooghly a jute wallah's wife

Publication date: 1989

• Author:

Title: The jute mills in Bengal

Publication date: 1880

• Author: Wallace, D.R.

Title: The romance of jute a short history of the Calcutta Jute Mill industry 1855-1909, 1909

Publication date: 1909

• Author: Pakistan. Ministry of Commerce. Jute Enquiry

Title: Report of the Jute Enquiry Commission 1960

Publication date: 1961

• Author: Woodhouse, Thomas

Title: The jute industry from seed to finished cloth

Publication date: 1921

• Author: Leng, Sir John

Title: Letters from India and Ceylon including the Manchester of India, the Indian Dundee, and Calcutta jute mills,

1895-96

Publication date: 1896?

• Author:

Title: Report on the Cultivation of Jute. Map showing the Jute growing districts of Bengal.

Publication date:

• Author: Kerr, Hem Chunder

Title: Report on the Cultivation of, and Trade in, Jute in Bengal, and on the Indian fibres available for the manufacture of paper.

Publication date: 1874

• Author: Sethia, Tara

Title: The Rise of the Jute Manufacturing Industry in Colonial India: A Global Perspective

Publication date: 1996

• Author: Sastry, D. U. (Davangere Umpathi)

Title: The cotton mill industry in India

Publication date: 1984

• Author: Geddes, Sir Patrick

Title: Patrick Geddes in India

Publication date: 1947

• Author: Leng, Sir John

Title: Letters from India and Ceylon including the Manchester of India, the Indian Dundee, and Calcutta jute mills, 1895-96

Publication date: 1896?

• Author: Jacob, Violet

Title: Diaries and letters from India, 1895-1900

Publication date: 1990

• Author: Hunter, William Wilson, Sir

Title: Rulers of India

Publication date: 1894

• Author: Wilson, Andrew

Title: The Abode of snow: observations on a journey from Chinese Tibet to the India Caucasus, through the upper valleys of the Himalaya

Publication date: 1875

Dundee University contact details

Archive Services

University of Dundee

Dundee, United Kingdom

DD1 4HN

Tel: +44 (0) 1382 344095

Fax: +44 (0) 1382 345523

Email: archives@dundee.ac.uk

External links

• Dundee and India - Roots, Rivalry and Interdependence
• Jute in India
• Newspaper article about shooting the documentary Brian Cox’s Jute Journey, in Calcutta.

• Interview with Brian Cox regarding the Dundee Jute Workers who went to Calcutta. Blog from the University of Dundee’s Archive Services regarding the documentary.
• A second blog has links to the University’s holdings.

• Jute and empire: the Calcutta jute wallahs and the landscapes of empire by Gordon Thomas Stewart 1998 Limited View Google Books

Historical books online

The Romance Of Jute: A Short History of the Calcutta Jute Mill Industry 1855-1927 by D.R. Wallace 2nd edition 1928 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website.