This is another wonderful little museum just off Canal Road in Armley and you simply can't believe the scale of the place as you walk up the track and cross the Canal.
The site covers five acres and houses some simply amazing exhibits. I was told that it was once the largest woollen mill in the world. There was so much to see and it was great to be shown around by Nina Baptiste, Site Keeper at Armley Mills and Thwaite Mills, and Sarah Barton who is the Learning and Access Officer at Armley Mills.
Nina and Sarah showed us the manager's house, the worker's cottage, the spinning mules, the weaving and spinning machinery including some wonderful 'Jacquard' looms that simplified the process of manufacturing textiles with complex patterns, an exhibition about the tailoring trade in Leeds, an exhibition about early cinema in Leeds, featuring Louis Le Prince, forgotten inventor of motion pictures, who made some very early films in Leeds. There's also a cinema showing films about local history. There was an impressive collection of engines, most of them made locally. Also on the ground floor are the waterwheels, and a collection of steam locomotives made by companies in Leeds, including a small engine called Jack which they take out on good days!
Nina has great plans for the future at this great little museum. If you've never been it is well worth a visit.
Chris
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