The Old Byre Showroom was established in 1967 by my parents John and Iris Mansfield who moved to the Isle of Arran in 1957 to farm. They came to Arran when they married from the town of Langholm in the borders of Scotland. It was in Langholm that my great grandfather, Tom Paisley, ran the fellmongering business separating the sheepskin from the wool. The business was later run by Stewart and Charlie Paisley, and it was John's uncle Stewart who suggested that they bring some sheepskin rugs to Arran to sell. Not thinking that there would be a demand, John and Iris simply sold a few sheepskin rugs from the house - until things got out of hand! It got to the stage that the doorbell was going constantly and the decision was taken to make the Old byre, a Scottish word for cowshed, into a shop.
Latterly the fellmongers in Langholm was run by Robert Paisley and has sadly had to close because it is now cheaper to process the skins abroad. John has many happy memories of growing up there and helping with the steam engines which generated paddles to separate the wool. A great place for a wee boy to play - I doubt if Health and Safety would approve nowadays!
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