Lord Robert's Workshop and Blindcraft, Dundee

Administrative / Biographical History: The Dundee Institution for the Blind can trace its origin to 1865 when Mrs Frances Mollison purchased Dallfield House in order to establish an institution for the blind. In 1869 it finally opened as the Dundee Institution for the Blind and it provided work, support and education for men and women who were blind or partially blind. In 1885 the new building on Magdalen Green was opened and in 1916 it was renamed the Royal Dundee Institution for the Blind. The name was changed again in 1986 to Royal Dundee Blindcraft Products thus reflecting its increasingly commercial nature. In the 1920s, a Lord Roberts Workshop was established in Dundee to provide employment for disabled ex-servicemen. Although the Lord Roberts Workshop and the Royal Dundee Institution for the Blind both primarily made furniture they were independent from each other until 1993 when they amalgamated. The new company was called Dovetail Enterprises and based itself in a new factory unit in Dunsinane Avenue in the Dunsinane Industrial Estate in Dundee.

From the guide to the Lord Robert's Workshop and Blindcraft, Dundee (formerly the Royal Dundee Institution for the Blind), 1890-2010, (University of Dundee)