Townhead Street was the main centre in Cumnock for weaving – the houses were single-storey, thatched with two main rooms, one of which held the handloom. In 1791 Cumnock had 35 handlooms plus 39 muslin weavers and 7 stocking weavers. By 1811 there were 70 muslin weavers and by the 1820s over 120 looms were in operation.

The American Civil War and the introduction of the power loom led to the decline of the trade in the 1850s and by 1899 only three weavers remained.

Weaving had a revival in the late 1940s at Bankend Mill..