ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat: 12 – 5pm
Sun: 10am – 5pm
Last admission: 4.30pm
Address
Abbey Walk
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
ABBEY HOUSE MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat: 12 – 5pm
Sun: 10am – 5pm
Last admission: 4.30pm
Address
Abbey Walk
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
LEEDS ART GALLERY
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed
Tues -Sat: 10am – 5pm
Sun: 11am – 3pm
Address
The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AA
LEEDS CITY MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: closed (11am – 5pm on bank holidays)
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 5pm
Address
Leeds City Museum
Millennium Square
Leeds
LS2 8BH
Ticket Provider
LEEDS DISCOVERY CENTRE
Opening Hours
Visits by appointment/special event only.
Free public store tours are now available by booking in advance. Please call or email us.
Address
Leeds Discovery Centre
Off Carlisle Road
Leeds
LS10 1LB
LEEDS INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed (10am – 5pm on bank holiday Mondays)
Tues – Fri: 10am – 5pm
Sat – Sun: 12 – 5pm
Last admission one hour before closing.
Address
Canal Road
Leeds
LS12 2QF
KIRKSTALL ABBEY
Opening Hours
Mon: closed (10am – 4pm on bank holidays)
Tues – Sun: 10am – 4.30pm
Last admission: 4pm
Address
Abbey Road
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH
Ticket Provider
LOTHERTON
Opening Hours
Open Daily
Estate opens: 7.30am
Hall: Open (Downstairs only) 10am-5pm
Wildlife World: 10am – 5pm
Estate closes: 7pm
Last entry 45 mins before estate closing time
TEMPLE NEWSAM
Opening Hours
House: Tues – Sun: 10.30am – 5pm
Home Farm: Tues – Sun: 10am – 5pm | Open Bank Holiday Mondays and throughout summer holidays
Last entry 45 minutes before
THWAITE WATERMILL
Address
Thwaite Lane
Stourton
Leeds
LS10 1RP
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Museum’s textile titan looms large over tiny twin
Leeds Industrial Museum News, NewsA tiny loom designed to give a miniature masterclass on Yorkshire’s textile prowess has been carefully conserved in the shadow of its super-sized sibling.
The scale model, less than half a metre high, recreates in astonishing detail the hulking machines manufactured by Barnsley’s Wilson and Longbottom, who made looms for factories around the world during the golden age of Yorkshire textile production.
Made in 1945, the miniature was once a fully working machine, and comes complete with tiny versions of the tools and accessories used in the full sized version as well as a hand-written instruction manual penned by its original maker.
Used for demonstrations, the machine even has a half-finished green handkerchief inside along with tiny replicas of the larger punched cards which, in a full-sized loom, would determine the sequence in which threads would rise and fall during production.
The model’s delicate cleaning took place close to the museum’s full-size Hattersley standard loom. The larger loom was made in 1933, manufactured by George Hattersley and Sons Ltd. of Keighley. The firm had a track record of making every type of loom until their closure in 1981, and each loom produced at the Hattersley works was painstakingly packed in specific order to ensure that all the parts worked properly.
Noted for their efficiency and robustness, many Hattersley looms survive today in working order, with the museum’s model even recently being used to create a specially-designed ‘Armley Weave’ cloth on site.
John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of industrial history, said: “Seeing both contrasting machines side-by-side really brings home the ingenuity and pride behind these remarkable looms, which dominated the Yorkshire textile industry for generations.
“Conserving the model loom, it’s clear that the maker wanted to capture the complexity of the mechanism and show exactly why these locally produced machines had become so popular and well-regarded in mills and factories around the world.
“Looking at the full-sized loom also gives a real sense of the size and power of the real thing, and it’s easy to imagine textile mills filled with these impressive machines which helped establish the county as such an important hub for the whole industry.”
Once itself the world’s largest woollen mill, Leeds Industrial Museum was built in at least the 1600s. The site was bought in the late 1700s by Colonel Thomas Lloyd, a Leeds cloth merchant, who expanded operations dramatically, so much so that Armley was soon the world’s biggest mill of its kind.
Although production ended in 1969, the site reopened as Leeds Industrial Museum in 1982 and today displays vintage machinery including traditional looms and other textile equipment.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “Leeds has a unique and rich heritage in the textile industry and we’re fortunate that so many of these incredible machines, which once filled Yorkshire’s mills and factories, have survived in such remarkable condition.
“They have played a key role in making Leeds and Yorkshire what they are today and are part of a fascinating chapter in our local history.”