Faifley

   FAIFLEY, a village, in that part of the parish of Old Kilpatrick which formed the late quoad sacra parish of Duntocher, county of Dumbarton, 2¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Old Kilpatrick; containing 321 inhabitants. This place is in the vicinity of Duntocher, and is one of several villages within a mile of each other on the northern side of the Clyde, owing their prosperity to the recent introduction of the cotton and woollen manufactures, and the erection of mills, steam-engines, and other machinery and facilities for their production, chiefly through the spirit and enterprise of Mr. William Dunn, a resident proprietor of land here. About the year 1812, Mr. Dunn purchased the mill of the Faifley Spinning Company, by whom this branch of business had been carried on for some time previously, but on a limited scale; and having made large additions to the buildings, and invited the industry of the inhabitants by the most liberal encouragement, the village soon increased in extent and population. Besides the spinning and weaving of cotton, the chief product of the place, there are iron-works, in which spades, shovels, and other articles are made; and some minor manufactures. The principal stream in the parish, which issues from two lochs behind the Kilpatrick braes, passes here, and falls into the Clyde at Dalmuir. There are two small schools.