please empty your brain below
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In the early 1980s I did a degree in textile technology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and ended up spending thirteen years living in Manchester, I visited Styal many times over those years. I haven't been in decades but I suspect one of the irreplaceable things it has lost over that time is volunteers who had actually worked in the north west's textile sheds. The people who demonstrated the machines 'in my day' were often recently retired from company's like Viyella and Courtaulds. The other thing that has clearly changed is that the train service to Styal was, in my memory, more frequent then. Good to see the place thriving though.
Joan | 09.10.17 - 7:44 a.m. | #
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Looks fascinating - as an NT member I must add it to the list of "must sees" when passing through that area.
@Joan
Until 1993 Styal did indeed have a much more frequent train service, but then Manchester Airport station opened, and most trains now go there instead.
timbo | 09.10.17 - 8:06 a.m. | #
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A rather magnificent building, perhaps the £20 admission fee is indicative of how expensive the place is to run.
As the UK was one of the first countries to be impacted by the industrial revolution, then by definition child labour would have been a first world problem, after all why would politicians and campaigners do something to stop it.
Still anon | 09.10.17 - 8:23 a.m. | #
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Re access without a car: if Manchester airport is so close, I suppose you could always fly there...
Jonathan Wadman | 09.10.17 - 9:39 a.m. | #
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Hailing from that region, I was a frequent visitor to Styal. One of the most chilling things was the realisation that one of the nursery rhymes we learnt as a child originated, as did many others, in the mill. The actions and the clapping and the pace of the rhyme were such that a child could run inside the machine in order to retrieve the end of a broken thread and then get out again before the being mangled in the moving metalwork.
Uncle Audrey | 09.10.17 - 9:50 a.m. | #
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Yikes! Fascinating as well as really chilling Uncle Audrey.
Chris | 09.10.17 - 10:11 a.m. | #
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"1784 - a year in which cotton made up 40% of British exports"
There was a large home market for cotton products as well.
And since we can't grow cotton in the UK, the volume of raw cotton imported must have been much greater.
The children in English mill towns were not the only people being exploited.
timbo | 09.10.17 - 10:41 a.m. | #
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Quarry Bank Mill is a great visit, though if the steep entry price proves a deterrent try visiting for free on Heritage Open Weekend in September which is normally 1 week before Open House in London.
The train service to Styal used to be even worse - at request of local users including visitors to the adjacent womens' prison they did add a couple of extra trains a day a few years ago.
For aeroplane enthusiasts there is a decent viewing spot for Manchester Airport a mile or so away via some surprisingly pleasant paths leading from Styal
Bill | 09.10.17 - 4:54 p.m. | #
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Anyone else interested in buying the resultant tea-towel?
There could be a market for handmade DG soft furnishings!
Cornish Cockney | 09.10.17 - 7:54 p.m. | #
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The NT's website actually recommends Manchester Airport station for some reason. In a straight line it's probably the closest station other than Styal, but there's the small matter of an entire international airport in the way and it's actually at least an hour's walk.
Geoff | 09.10.17 - 10:01 p.m. | #
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But at least Manchester Airport has a reasonable train service. And, until and unless scrapped, the 200 bus plugs the gap.
dg writes: The 200 bus to Styal runs about as frequently as the train.
And it's probably quite a good place to find a taxi, if you happen to be a member of the taxi-using classes.
Malcolm | 10.10.17 - 2:08 a.m. | #
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