Each year our merry band of volunteers for the National Trust have a day out to another property. This year we chose Quarry Bank Mill in Styal near Wilmslow in Cheshire.
I have been there before several years ago but was impressed by what has been achieved during the intervening years. it is a story about the Industrial Revolution and how it changed the cotton industry. The tour progresses from the middle ages through to the 19th century. There are costumed guides and working machinery. The mill is operated not only by guides but also by Europe’s most powerful working waterwheel. The story of the pauper children who worked in the mill is told in the Apprentice House.
It was a wet day when we visited so we did not have a chance to look around the beautiful grounds, but of course we did have lunch in the restaurant (using our 20% discount for volunteers)
None of our group has mobility problems, but the site is accessible for those who need it and there is an access route for wheelchair users.
The Channel 4 historical drama “The Mill” was inspired by archive material based on the lives of real people who were apprentice mill workers. Just recently I was watching an episode of Hetty Wainthrop Investigates – “For Love nor Money” and recognised some of the locations that were filmed at Quarry Bank. As is often the case when watching period dramas, I find myself wondering which National Trust property was used in the filming!
Nevertheless, Quarry Bank is well worth a visit and if you take your grandchildren they will learn a lot.
