Finding treasures

Everywhere in the town, echoes of the silk industry can be found… the local shopping centre is called the Silkworks, the football and rugby team players are called the silkmen, the main bypass leading to Macclesfield is the Silk Road. The Silk is the Soul Ambassadors explored the town to find more… Silk FM radio station, Silk Town Chippy, Mill Lane, Weavers Court, Silkhomes estate agent,  …

Paradise Mill was one of the last mills to close down, in 1981. Nearly 40 years later, it feels as if the place has been left untouched, bobbins lying around, imprints in the wood where people use to sit for hours. Thanks to a team of staff and passionate volunteers, the machinery is being kept running. This is one of the rare places in our world silk heritage where you can hear, feel, touch, smell, and be transported back to the past.

Albion Mill is a huge building off London Road where smaller garments such as ties were designed and woven. The site is currently closed to the public but we were granted permission to bring some of the Fallibroome Academy students to this stunning heritage mill site.

Some large mills have been completely refurbished for other purposes, such as this mill off the Silk Road, currently offices for a pharmaceutical company. Most mills were situated near the river Bollin. Though the river is now mainly hidden underground, traces of it can be found. People recall the river turning blue, red, green, depending on what dye was used in the dying houses on that day.

All around Macclesfield, typical houses from the silk heritage can be found. These garret houses have a top floor with large windows for weavers to be able to work the silk and have good lighting. Many people worked from home, from weaving on the top floor to making buttons, all the family members were involved.

Compton Mill looks derelict from the outside, yet it has found a new life. Half of the building is let to small businesses such as Chabby Chic furniture and a boxing club, the other half is standing empty.

Entrance to Compton Mill.

Inside the building now known as Venture House, used by many small businesses, are traces of an old Mill with rusty machinery and pipes.

Macclesfield Silk Museum has a stunning collection of Jacquard cards. Children from Broken Cross Primary were shown how the Jacquard card system works and how it inspired computer technologies we know today.

Macclesfield Silk Museum is the home of fully working mills. A team of volunteers keeps them alive, tricky work when the pieces they are made of are not available to buy anymore, and the people with the technical knowledge are an endangered species. Children from Broken Cross Primary got to see some machines at work and hear their unique and mesmerising mechanical sounds.

The Silk Museum pattern book collection is host to thousand of designs yet to be archived. The young people had access to this amazing collection, currently looked after by volunteers.