Whitchurch Silk Mill
Whitchurch Silk
Mill in Hampshire has received a confirmed grant of
£1.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the
Preserving the Fabric project.
The project will see urgent repairs
to the Mill’s bell tower, roof and wheelhouse, and
essential conservation to the late 19th
and early 20th century winding, warping
and weaving machinery, so that the Mill can continue
to weave silk. An educational programme and new
exhibition and learning spaces are also planned to
make the building more welcoming to the visiting
public.
The building will be made accessible
to all by installing a lift to the middle and top
floors. The shop building adjacent to the Mill will
be extended to relocate the café at street level to
make the most of passing trade, while a new
generation of weavers and tacklers will be trained
to ensure the skills necessary to operate this
working mill survive.
Preserving the Fabric
will cost approximately £2,200,000,
of which £1,300,000 will be spent on conserving and
improving the buildings. We have asked HLF for 78%
of the total cost, and will raise the remaining 22%
(£400,000) ourselves. During 2015/16 we
successfully raised £200,000 from special events,
the local community’s generosity, and charitable
trusts. The Garfield Weston Foundation and the
Linbury Trust have given us grants, leaving us to
find £35,000 before we can start work. And so,
fund-raising continues in earnest.
Whitchurch Silk
Mill is a Grade II* listed textile mill built in
1815 on the River Test in the small Hampshire town
of Whitchurch. It was in continuous use until 1985,
when it was saved from inappropriate development and
refurbished. It opened to the public in 1990 under
the management of Whitchurch Silk Mill Trust. It is
one of only four working silk mills in the country
and the only one open to visitors, who can see silk
being woven on historic machinery.
For more
details, see the mill’s website
whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk
.
