The Silk Factory

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The Silk Museum explains Macclesfield’s silk story. It is housed in the former Art School. Many artists and designers trained here. Discovered in 2016, it was then loaned to the Historic Royal Palaces. It is finally ready for display after three years and 1,000 hours of conservation. The Cloth is exhibited alongside a painting of the Queen, which shows her wearing a dress made from similar material.

This section contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. ( September 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) This is a story that should be savoured, not devoured. It's one I felt quite at peace with when I closed the cover. Nicely done.

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Brooding and atmospheric , The Silk Factory embraces two life stories set in dual periods of history. With the gentlest of touches, Judith Allnatt has spun her gorgeous threads with care, so they interweave seamlessly. The Queen wore Sudbury silk at her coronation. Also adorning it were former US First Lady, Michelle Obama and poster Adele. Sudbury’s manufactories also work with fashion designers such as Sir Paul Smith and Dior. In addition, some companies make high class furnishing fabrics and regularly receive commissions to reproduce historic designs – such as those used in the restoration of Windsor Castle. The exhibition includes other stunning embroidery from the period, and explores the artistry of Tudor costume. Also displayed are rare books that could have inspired decorative motifs fashionable at the time. Harris Museum, Preston At the root of both timelines is ordinary life - warts and all: tragedy, endurance, and love, in all its many guises. Although it’s apparent that their paths will never cross directly, they are touched by the unravelling threads of The Silk Factory. The town had a pool of skilled silk producers. They manned the throwing mills, which were built from the 1740s onwards. The building of weaving sheds commenced in the 1790s, and by 1826 there were 70 throwing mills. However, many failed due to economic downturn. Closure of 30 mills had happened four years later. Silk products from Macclesfield went on display at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Items included ribbons, shawls and handkerchiefs.

As well as that, Warner & Sons was a leading manufacturer of silk and velvet (and produced a wide range of other woven fabrics). Significantly, it created the Queen’s coronation robes and silk hangings during the coronation ceremony. They moved from London to Braintree in 1895, and today the Warner Textile Archive is housed in part of the original mill building at Silks Way, Braintree. It maintains a publicly accessible gallery, along with rotating public exhibitions, and represents two centuries of UK textile manufacturing history. This is a haunting, historical novel that I would recommend to anybody who is a fan of Barbara Erskine or Pamela Hartshorne. Whilst not a time-slip novel EXACTLY, the two stories run alongside each other, with Rosie in the present day occasionally catching glimpses of Beulah in the past.

At its height, Lister's employed 11,000 men, women and children – manufacturing high-quality textiles such as velvet and silk. It supplied 1,000 yards (910m) of velvet for King George V's coronation and in 1976 new velvet curtains for the President Ford White House. During the Second World War Lister's produced 1,330 miles (2,140km) of real parachute silk, 284 miles (457km) of flame-proof wool, 50 miles (80km) of khaki battledress and 4,430 miles (7,130km) of parachute cord. [1] The cruelty and the blatant spite and greed of their employer, the silk factory owner, are depicted to perfection, until the young family of Effie, Tobias and Beulah would never be the same again. Here, groups can learn about the mill owners and view an extensive collection of pattern books. They can also learn about parachute silk and printed silk escape and evade maps – which were made during World War Two. The silk production side of the business does not justify even half of the size. So I will look at other opportunities for the buildings.”

A strike in 1890–91 at the mill was important in the establishment of the Independent Labour Party which later helped found the modern-day Labour Party. Silk woven in Sudbury has been worn by the Queen at her coronation, royal brides, former US First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Adele.The thousands-year-long splendid culture and history of silk in Suzhou and China is perfectly presented to you with historical pictures and words. Also, you will admire the very typical old silk clothes in ancient China, like the imperial robe in Qing dynasty, costume of women, ornaments in delicate patterns, etc. What’s more, the vivid scenes of ancient Chinese people breeding silkworms, dyeing raw silks, and many silk manufacturing machines in ancient times are well exhibited in Suzhou Silk Factory. Interact with the Silkworm Babies & Silk Cocoons Additionally, in recognition of Silk Factory’s commitment to creativity, inclusivity, and excellence, they were the recent BASE Award winner for ‘Agency of the Year’. A special exhibition focuses on the Lost Dress of Elizabeth I, and runs until 23rd February. A cloth panel, which was thought to be from a dress she wore, was made from shambles silk. It was woven with strips of beaten silver and embroidered with plants, beasts and butterflies. The cloth found its way to the small church of Bacton in Herefordshire, through a link with the Queen’s most loyal servant, Blanche Parry. The Listers' business decreased considerably during the 1980s. Stiff foreign competition and changing textile trends such as increased use of artificial fibres were the reasons. In 1999, the mills were closed. [2] Being a prominent structure, the mills attracted a great deal of attention and several regeneration proposals came and went. The sheer size of the buildings being a major difficulty. However local residents, former workers and, notably, Reverend George Moffat never lost hope that the mills would rise again. They campaigned hard to save the mills. [ citation needed] Rebirth [ edit ] Lister Mills in 2010, from Lister Park

Silk is still produced in quantity today in Sudbury; it is the only place in Britain to do so. Employing highly skilled craftspeople, its four factories (Banners Silk Weavers, Stephen Walters & Sons, the Gainsborough Weaving Company and Humphries Weaving) are long-established. Silk weavers’ cottages can still be found in East Street, Melford Road and other parts of the town. Characterising these three-storey terraces are large first-floor windows, which maximised light for the weaving process. French Protestant Huguenots sought refuge from religious persecution in France in 1685. This was in response to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV. Many settled in Spitalfields, London, and this is where Britain’s silk story begins.Braintree’s role in silk manufacture was rather significant. The Courtauld family was famous in the silk industry. George Courtauld established a silk throwing business in 1799. In 1825, the family began making crape (crimped silk gauze), and this made the company famous. Suzhou No. 1 Silk Mill (苏州市第一丝厂) is also named Suzhou No. 1 Silk Factory or Suzhou Silk Factory in short. This historic state-owned plant was established in 1926 and has become a particularly honored century-old factory in Suzhou. For its traditional skills of making silk and direct exhibition of culture and history of silk in China, Suzhou Silk Factory has been recommended by the BBC Travel. As a result, you could go to this silk factory to see closely the detail steps from silkworm breeding, selecting cocoons, making silk, feel the soft, thin and light silk quilt and fill your eyes with various unprecedented excellent silk exhibits, which will tell why the Chinese silk is so charming that many people are wowed by it. The 7 year restoration of this space paid the closest attention to detail and attempted to keep as much of the original architecture as possible. The end result is an elegant yet edgy, rich space filled with carefully curated antique furniture and art pieces sourced from all over the world. Andy Snook & John Piedot, Co-Founders of Silk Factory said: “We are ecstatic to become part of BASE & DEGI. Silk Factory has consistently pushed the boundaries of creativity, innovation and collaboration, as shown in our recent ‘Agency of the Year’ win. By officially joining forces with BASE, we look forward to contributing to the conversation and exploring the exciting growth and change within the industry.”