Weaving at Whitchurch Silk Mill
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling. (Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven"; compare leave and left.) The method in which these threads are inter-woven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back strap loom, or other techniques without looms.
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one colour or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic design.
The Weaving Shed is on the ground floor of the Silk Mill.
The weaving takes place on 19th and early 20th century power looms. There are two types; tappet (weaving pattern decided from below) and dobby (weaving pattern decided from above).
The looms were made by William Smith & Bros. Ltd of Heywood, Lancashire. They were powered by the water wheel until the late 1020s, but electricity was introduced by James Hide in the late 1920s.
Whitchurch Silk Mill is a watermill on the River Test, located in the town of Whitchurch, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The mill was constructed in 1800 by Henry Hayter on a plot of land called Frog Island. The mill is probably on the same site as one of the four mills recorded in the Domesday Book. Originally it was a fulling mill (part of the finishing process of cloth weaving). Some years later, in 1817, it was bought by William Madick who changed its operation to throw silk. In 1844 it was acquired by Alexander Bannerman and John Spencer, merchants of Manchester. William Chappell, the manager of the mill, purchased it from them in 1846. At this time the mill employed 108 staff, including 39 children under the age of 13. By 1866 the mill had passed into the ownership of the Hide family with whom it remained until the death of James Hide in 1955. It ultimately passed to Ede and Ravenscroft who operated it up to 1985, producing legal and academic gowns. It was then acquired by the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust who, after renovation works, opened it to the public in 1990.
In December 2012, the Trustees recommenced silk production.
Weaving at Whitchurch Silk Mill
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling. (Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven"; compare leave and left.) The method in which these threads are inter-woven affects the characteristics of the cloth. Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back strap loom, or other techniques without looms.
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one colour or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic design.
The Weaving Shed is on the ground floor of the Silk Mill.
The weaving takes place on 19th and early 20th century power looms. There are two types; tappet (weaving pattern decided from below) and dobby (weaving pattern decided from above).
The looms were made by William Smith & Bros. Ltd of Heywood, Lancashire. They were powered by the water wheel until the late 1020s, but electricity was introduced by James Hide in the late 1920s.
Whitchurch Silk Mill is a watermill on the River Test, located in the town of Whitchurch, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The mill was constructed in 1800 by Henry Hayter on a plot of land called Frog Island. The mill is probably on the same site as one of the four mills recorded in the Domesday Book. Originally it was a fulling mill (part of the finishing process of cloth weaving). Some years later, in 1817, it was bought by William Madick who changed its operation to throw silk. In 1844 it was acquired by Alexander Bannerman and John Spencer, merchants of Manchester. William Chappell, the manager of the mill, purchased it from them in 1846. At this time the mill employed 108 staff, including 39 children under the age of 13. By 1866 the mill had passed into the ownership of the Hide family with whom it remained until the death of James Hide in 1955. It ultimately passed to Ede and Ravenscroft who operated it up to 1985, producing legal and academic gowns. It was then acquired by the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust who, after renovation works, opened it to the public in 1990.
In December 2012, the Trustees recommenced silk production.