The Grade II listed Paradise Silk Mill in Cheshire reopened to the public in February 2024 after a £309k National Heritage Memorial Fund backed restoration project, supported by building owners Allmand-Smith Ltd. This grant has helped the Silk Heritage Trust acquire a 125-year lease of the top floor of the mill. Paradise Mill, which produced luxury silk goods from 1862 until 1981, will once again be home to silk production, after restoration of two of the mill’s 19th century Jacquard looms.
Silk weaving has now joined the list of Endangered Heritage Craft Skills. The Silk Museum has secured funding from The Radcliffe Trust to develop a plan for the conservation of the looms alongside creative placements for emerging craftspeople. Director of the Silk Museum, Emma Anderson, said: “The looms tell remarkable stories of silk production in Macclesfield. It is essential that they are kept in working order so that visitors can experience the incredible sights and sounds of these historically-important machines. We need to revive and expand the technical knowledge of how to operate and care for them so they can continue to inspire future generations of weavers for years to come.”
The Museum is planning to return more of its collection of 26 Jacquard handlooms to working order . Tour guides at the museum, Daniel Hearn, and Trish Halloran, alongside Rebecca Faragher, who is a trained weaver, are undertaking the conservation of the building’s handlooms, in work supported by funding from the Association for Industrial Archaeology. Hearn said the restoration had required considerable effort. “Establishing a strong foundation in acquiring these skills means we are taking the first critical steps in ensuring that this niche type of Jacquard handloom weaving remains operational within the extraordinary time capsule that is Paradise Mill.” As part of the restoration project textile students Bea Uprichard and Ruth Farris, from Manchester Metropolitan University, have designed and woven a new silk – the first one to be created at the mill in decades.
Guided tours of the Silk Mill resumed in February. For more information follow this link: https://www.thesilkmuseum.co.uk/
Industrial Heritage Networks 