Museum of… Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Burnley, Lancashire

Where

Queen Street Mill is a Grade 1-listed cotton weaving mill in the village of Harle Syke, about three miles outside of Burnley in Lancashire. Burnley was once a major centre of Lancashire’s cotton industry. “Set high above Burnley, the mill has an imposing 121-foot red-brick chimney that can be seen for miles,” says Sarah Stewart, the museum manager.

What

It is one of four accredited museums operated by Lancashire County Council. “The mill is a typical example of a Victorian weaving factory, one of many that once dominated Lancashire,” says Stewart. “It is the last steam- powered weaving shed in the world. We have more than 300 Lancashire looms all made in Burnley as well as a working steam engine and boiler room.”

Collection

The Lancashire Textile Industry Collection is Designated with Arts Council England and illustrates the development of spinning and weaving from 1780 to the 1960s. It is housed between Queen Street Mill and the sister site of Helmshore Mills in Rossendale, which focuses on the wool industry and spinning.

Highlights

“One of the highlights of the collection is our in-situ steam engine, Peace,” says Stewart. “It was built in 1894 and is still the beating heart of the mill, with the engine driving a 14-foot fly-wheel attached to the first motion shaft. This runs the length of the mill and engages a series of directly driven line shafts that are connected to the Lancashire looms in the weaving shed by leather belts. When the engine is running it brings the weaving shed to life with the movement, sounds and smells of the old mills.”

Magic moment

“Meeting a local lady who had worked here as a weaver during the 1950s,” says Stewart. “When she walked through the weaving shed, she could point out the four looms she used to run. It was amazing to hear her real-life experience.”

Help at hand

There are nine paid staff on site and seven volunteers. “It’s so important to invest in training to share and teach the skills needed to work with heritage textile machinery and steam engines,” says Stewart.

“These skillsets are swiftly disappearing from living memory, but we are lucky to have members of the team with this knowledge. With this in mind, we are linking with the Heritage Skills Academy to offer a new heritage technician post with apprenticeship training so that they can share their skills with future generations.”

Future plans

The museum has just built a full annual events programme, which will include a roller-disco this summer put on by its community of young people. “Long term we want to develop underused spaces in the mill,” says Stewart. “Key to this is securing grants to help offset the huge repair and maintenance costs.”

Luckily, the museum is a popular film and TV location. It has appeared in the film The King’s Speech, the BBC’s drama An Inspector Calls and Netflix’s series The English Game and many more.

“We now know we can accommodate large film productions and we charge a fee to help offset some of our running costs,” says Stewart.