Step into the Industrial Revolution at Quarry Bank

Styal, Cheshire

This fascinating industrial heritage site transports visitors back to 18th century Northern England and the life of a thriving cotton mill community.

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of late 18th-century industrial England at Quarry Bank Mill, one of the best-preserved mill sites in the world. Visitors can see how a complete industrial community lived, and become immersed in the noise and vibration of the working mill, its machinery, steam engines and the most powerful working waterwheel in Europe.

The Apprentice House shows how the mill’s 19th-century child apprentices lived, from the leeches they were treated with in the medicine room to the straw-filled beds they shared in the dormitory. Watch fascinating live demonstrations, which include traditional spinning and weaving techniques, then for a peaceful moment head to the owner’s gardens and picturesque valley retreat adjoining the mill. Quarry Bank Mill is just 7 minutes' drive from Manchester Airport (55 minutes by plane from London), 30 minutes from Manchester itself and 3 hours 25 minutes from London.

Content provided by Visit Cheshire

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