Lancashire

From hills to mills to legends discover the true story of Lancashire's textile industry alongside original working machinery.  

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

This unique museum is the last surviving 19th century steam powered weaving mill in the world. The sights, sounds and smells will help to bring history alive for your pupils. See the weaving shed, with over 300 belt-driven looms. Talk to the boilerman and engineer to find out about the Lancashire boiler and steam engine. Watch the looms running and experience the noise of a weaving shed and discover more about the lives of the people who worked here.

They offer a range of school sessions delivered by a knowledgeable freelance education team. Sessions include activities such as taking a trip back to school with a Victorian school teachers and letting pupils try their hand at carding, spinning and handloom. You can even bring the mill into your classroom with an interactive session with one of the group leaders. You can meet Bobby, the half-timer who works as a little piecer in the mill. Find out about his day and compare it to the life of your pupils.

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Helmshore Mills Textile Museum

A wonderful resource for your pupils! Two textile mills, Higher Mill and Whitaker’s Mill, on one site. Discover the fascinating story of Lancashire’s textile industry, a story built upon the back of great Lancastrian inventors James Hargreaves, Richard Arkwright and Samuel Crompton. The Working machinery, including the waterwheel, carding engines and spinning mule bring your visit to life.

There is a range of activities and practical sessions such as the chance to discover the origins of different fabrics, taking a journey through the industrial revolution to the time when cotton was king and learning to spin wool by hand. You can even bring the mill into your classroom with an interactive session with one of the group leaders. You can meet Bobby, the half-timer who works as a little piecer in the mill. Find out about his day and compare it to the life of your pupils.

Find out more