Anyone have any thoughts on age?

Think they're cotton (although light brown - could be just age). Finer than wool generally is anyway.

Not in the shop just now but the warp is definitely cotton, unsure of the weft. What would it indicate either way?

I reckon it is probably around 150ish but the owner was thinking 300. But you can't just guesstimate based on condition. We even thought about getting Glasgow University to carbon date but apparently it's not accurate for something that's less than a few hundred years old.

We know the provenance for the past 120 years. Before that I have no idea. It could have been brand new the first time it was used or it could have been already antique. It was gifted to the Cathedral by Captain Charles A Hepburn so I'm presuming it was loaned to the Cathedral and Westminster Abbey etc. over the years rather than them owning it.

Found this on a website about Tartans saying Charles Hepburn had a tartan commissioned for him:

"This sett was produced for Captain Charles Hepburn in 1968 by Anderson's of Edinburgh, from an existing design. The Hepburns are associated with Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale and the history of Mary, Queen of Scots. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell (1536-78), married the Queen after being implicated in the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley. Anderson collection is found at Kinloch Andersons of Leith Edinburgh."

There's also this:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/ser...sa-z/hepburncollection/

Hepburn Collection

This collection comprises over 300 volumes bequeathed in 1971 by Charles A. Hepburn, Glasgow whisky distiller, philanthropist, art collector and bibliophile. These are mainly first editions of 19th-century English novelists and poets. There are also a number of fine bindings and a dozen fore-edge paintings.