Film: Tuppence a Bale

16 September 2026 – September 2027

Included in museum admission

The film can be seen in the Social History Gallery of Verdant Works Museum, and runs on a loop throughout the day, with subtitles

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The Fabric of Dundee, a new, year-long exhibition of jute-related imagery and artefacts from within the Trust’s Recognised Collections of National Significance will open on 16 September throughout Verdant Works Museum.  

As part of this new exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to see a truly rare sight; the work of Dundee’s jute stowers in action, in footage captured in colour in the 1980s. This iconic short film shows an average working day in a jute stower warehouse, and is the only surviving footage of these processes in colour. Jute stowers played a crucial role in the city’s jute production.

The film features Chic Mitchell narrating the story of his friends and workmates Matt McVicar and Geordie Ward, and was filmed by Alfie Mitchell. The narration features conversation between Chic Mitchell and Willie Hoolachan, producer of Tuppence a Bale.

Alongside the 10-minute film, visitors can also see an array of photographs of the city’s stowers, from the collection of stower Chic Mitchell, which were gathered in the 1960s, and a bale harness.

Narrator: Chic Mitchell
Camera: Alfie Fleming
Consultant: Mick McCluskey M.Sc.
Producer: Willie Hoolachan

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The Fabric of Dundee exhibition comes as part of wider celebrations to mark Verdant Works Museum’s 30th anniversary.

The site dates back to 1833, and has been used as a flax mill, a jute mill, and has been the home of a recycling merchants in its near-200-year past. 

The rare courtyard-type mill was acquired by the Dundee Heritage Trust in 1991, and, over the course of five years, was transformed from a derelict scrap metal merchants into an interactive museum, filled with galleries portraying the jute and industrial story of Dundee. Since then, the jute-mill-turned-attraction has continued to grow and develop, with the remarkable restoration of the High Mill – the oldest area in the building – in 2015 cementing the mill’s future as not only an attraction, but a space for exhibitions, weddings, functions and community activities.  

The attraction now sees over 11,000 visitors from around the globe annually, and is consecutively awarded Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, for its inclusion in the top 10% of attractions worldwide, according to Tripadvisor reviews and rankings.