Mr Uphilldowndale took me out to lunch, for a celebratory sandwich and a piece of the National Trusts finest victoria sponge (he knows how to treat a gal! The reason for the celebration was the unveiling of a plaque, I’ve never been to a plaque unveiling before.
Quarry Bank Mill receives 61st Engineering Heritage Award

Isobel Pollock, chair of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Heritage Committee, said: “Not only is the Quarry Bank Mill a beautiful working example of the engineering technology that turned Britain into an industrial superpower, it also acts as a window into the North-West’s past.
“The work the mill’s staff and volunteers are doing in bringing the industrial revolution alive for today’s schoolchildren cannot be praised highly enough.”
Barry Cook, chief engineer at Quarry Bank, described the award as a “fantastic honour”, particularly as almost all of the team are volunteers.
“At Quarry Bank Mill we pride ourselves on making visits interesting and enjoyable for both adults and children, taking great pleasure in sharing the history of this fascinating Georgian mill which is still producing cotton today,” he said.
Mr Uhdd met lots of folk he hadn’t seen since he was fresh out of university and joined the real world, working for ICI back in the late 1970’s, after lunch we had time for a mooch around the mill, the last time I’d been there was when the boys were somewhat smaller and wanted to look at different things than I did.
The mill charts the history of weaving, from home weavers and their heirlooms*

right through to the vast mills, that were key employers in northern England right through until the 1970’s with working machinery that still produces cloth, I rather like the sound and rhythm of the looms, one or two at a time

This I wouldn’t like, dangerous and noisy

I’ll leave you with a few more shots, the sun is shinning here today, I’m going to go out and grab a fix of vitamin D!



The word ‘heirloom’ comes from the tradition of the loom being handed down from father to son.