Alexander Morton (manufacturer)

Alexander Morton (c. 1844–1923) was a Scottish textiles manufacturer.

Fabric designed by C. F. A. Voysey for Liberty of London and manufactured by Alexander Morton and Co - on display in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris

1887 silk panel, designed by Alexander Morton

In 1875, he founded Alexander Morton and Company in Darvel, Ayrshire.^[1] In the 1890s, they had nearly 600 employees.^[2] By 1900, they had expanded to Carlisle, England and Killybegs, Ireland (Donegal Carpets).^[2] The Donegal carpet industry owes its origins to Alexander Morton.^[3]

They used the services of many designers, especially C. F. A. Voysey, Heywood Sumner and Lindsay Butterfield, and later Cecil Millar and George Henry Walton.^[2]

In 1914, he reorganised his business interests, with a new company Morton Sundour being "the major off-shoot".^[2][4] It was run by his second son James Morton.^[2]

A monument to Alexander Morton in Loudoun, Ayrshire, erected in 1927, is a Category A listed building.^[5]

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London holds 774 examples of their fabrics in their collection.^[6]