The Colne Valley Museum is in the

Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...

at Golcar,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. The museum consists of four converted 19th-century weavers'

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s. The museum provides an insight into what life was like for a weaver in the early 1850s. The museum includes a

clog Clogs are a type of footwear that has a thick, rigid sole typically made of wood, although in American English, shoes with rigid soles made of other materials are also called clogs. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective footwear in a ...

-maker's workshop, a

handloom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

chamber, a spinning room, a cropping room, kitchen and living rooms. The museum is run entirely by volunteers.Colne Valley Museum
/ref>

History

The original row of four cottages was built in the 1840s by James and Sally Pearson, who were independent cloth manufacturers. It was built into a steep hillside with a traditional entrance for the lower rooms and a separate entrance to the upper floor at the rear of the cottages. In 1970, three of the cottages were converted to house the museum. The cottages we’re named Spring Rock. The museum features several restored period rooms, which are also used for temporary exhibits. Permanent exhibits include a handloom and a

spinning jenny The spinning jenny is a multi- spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialisation of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764–1765 by James Hargreaves in Stan ...

, invented by

James Hargreaves James Hargreaves ( – 22 April 1778) was an English Weaver (occupation), weaver, carpenter and inventor who lived and worked in Lancashire, England. Hargreaves is credited with inventing the spinning jenny in 1764. He was one of three men re ...

, a weaver's sitting room and gas-lit clogger's shop. The museum is open for school visits, for which children are encouraged to dress in period clothing, from Monday to Friday. Some weekends the museum opens for demonstrations and exhibitions by the volunteer helpers, who demonstrate the types of craft that would have existed during the 19th century.

References

External links

* {{coord, 53.638700, -1.856760, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Tourist attractions in Kirklees Buildings and structures in Kirklees Colne Valley Huddersfield Museums in West Yorkshire Textile museums in the United Kingdom Historic house museums in West Yorkshire Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire

History

See also

References

External links