Wellington Mill
Date stone detail of Wellington silk mill, Leek, Staffordshire.
Now converted into housing, the Wellington Mill in Leek, Staffordshire, is one of many Victorian textile mills in the town and the last to cease working as a silk mill.
The fleeing Huguenots , following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, are often credited with bringing the silk industry to Leek but, in fact, although they introduced more refined techniques to the industry, it goes further back than that in this area and was mentioned in the will of John Wood, a silk weaver, in 1672.
Leek was particularly famed for the production of fine ribbons, thread and silk covered buttons, known collectively as smallwares. Originally this was a cottage industry but, with expansion and mechanisation in the 19th century, large mills took over the industry. Alongside the production of the silk goods a specialist dyeing industry also grew up, encouraged by William Morris, who worked alongside local mill owner, Thomas Wardle, to perfect dyes made from natural materials. The most specialist of all was Raven Black, for which Leek became well known.
Products from the Wellington Mill were exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1862 in London and later in exhibitions in Leeds, Paris and even Melbourne in Australia.
The products from the mill covered an enormous range of goods over the years , including threads made especially for tailors, dressmakers, mantle makers and corset manufacturers. Even boot and shoe and harness makers were catered for, as were dentists and surgeons, for whom the mill made surgical threads. Two of the most important products were the fine embroidery threads required by the local Leek Embroidery Society and threads for making military uniforms.
With thanks to Sarah Brough for lending me her dissertation on the history of the mill.
Wellington Mill
Date stone detail of Wellington silk mill, Leek, Staffordshire.
Now converted into housing, the Wellington Mill in Leek, Staffordshire, is one of many Victorian textile mills in the town and the last to cease working as a silk mill.
The fleeing Huguenots , following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, are often credited with bringing the silk industry to Leek but, in fact, although they introduced more refined techniques to the industry, it goes further back than that in this area and was mentioned in the will of John Wood, a silk weaver, in 1672.
Leek was particularly famed for the production of fine ribbons, thread and silk covered buttons, known collectively as smallwares. Originally this was a cottage industry but, with expansion and mechanisation in the 19th century, large mills took over the industry. Alongside the production of the silk goods a specialist dyeing industry also grew up, encouraged by William Morris, who worked alongside local mill owner, Thomas Wardle, to perfect dyes made from natural materials. The most specialist of all was Raven Black, for which Leek became well known.
Products from the Wellington Mill were exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1862 in London and later in exhibitions in Leeds, Paris and even Melbourne in Australia.
The products from the mill covered an enormous range of goods over the years , including threads made especially for tailors, dressmakers, mantle makers and corset manufacturers. Even boot and shoe and harness makers were catered for, as were dentists and surgeons, for whom the mill made surgical threads. Two of the most important products were the fine embroidery threads required by the local Leek Embroidery Society and threads for making military uniforms.
With thanks to Sarah Brough for lending me her dissertation on the history of the mill.