The hides for export were processed by the SKINNERS of the burgh. For centuries Skins were indispensable for boots and clothing, shields, armour, tents, bottles and buckets.

Leather was also used for the drive belts which powered the machinery of the Industrial Revolution.

Early man learned how to extend the life of a skin and increase its suppleness by rubbing in fats and brains to replace the original oils. Later it was discovered that the bark of certain trees, when soaked in water, produced a dark solution which transformed the rough hides into leather.

In the late 17th Century the SKINNERS CRAFT lapsed. Only six crafts are listed in the Statistical Account of 1791. It was 1922 before the SKINNERS were reconstituted and by the time the purpose of the INCORPORATION was social and benevolent. By 1946 their membership was 35.