n By Mark Metcalf


Looming large – looms featured in these ʽdark satanic millsʼ


Sam Southam – Heritage technician


also get visitors who tell their own stories and bring in photographs of family members who not so very long ago worked here. I incorporate some of the stories into my own talks,” The Mill ceased production and closed in 1978.


Another Unite member is assistant manager Michael Whitworth (pictured right) who when he previously worked at the University of Manchester was a TGWU steward.


Whitworth explained that the museum staff are working hard to develop bigger roots within the local community. “We don’t have a local


QUIZ


Have you got any idea where these three phrases may have orginated from? 1. Heirloom


2. Tenterhooks 3. Taking the p**s The answers are upside down at the top of this page. 35 uniteLANDWORKER Spring 2026


library. So even though the museum is closed in the winter months we open on a Thursday as a warm space for older people. Lots of games get played. New friendships are made.” When we visited the café was busy with local people attending a book club. In another part of the large premises young children were engaging in arts and crafts activities including making woollen dolls.


“On school visits, we incorporate our working machines alongside modern technology by organising science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) where children learn how to make invisible ink and use volcano activities to simplify chemical reactions,” says Whitworth.


At aged 8, Jessie Brandon, joined by his friend Charlie, had enjoyed his visit. “It was fun wandering around. The best bit was the water mill!” The young boys had also been able to


have some hands-on experiences by being helped to use a hand loom to do some weaving, and they’d also examined 50 Lancashire objects.


Jessie’s mum, teacher Helen, was pleased to see her son smiling out wide. But she is also keen to make sure he discovers that his great grandad Rob Bennett was a passionate believer in trade unions and health and safety, and who, from a working class background, studied to eventually become an HMI Inspector of Mines in the 1920s.


“I was born and bred in Bury. The cotton industry is part of my heritage. I wanted my son to see what a cotton mill looks like and get a glimpse of the heat and noise. It gives an understanding of what people’s lives were previously like,” said Helen.


Answers: Heirloom – on the death of the father the loom was passed on to the oldest son. Tenterhooks – hooks on the tenter used to hold the cloth in place. Taking the p**s – residents’ urine was collected for the ammonia to use in textile manufacturing.


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