IT was a way of life for so many families.
The textiles industry of the Colne Valley was a dominant force for well over a century.
Now many of the old mills have gone – demolished or converted over the years.
But the names are remembered – Globe, Titanic, Cellars Clough, Bank Bottom.
Museums staff in Huddersfield now want to capture the memories of those bygone days for a major exhibition.
Wild about Wool is a Heritage Lottery Funded project run by Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival with Satellite Arts and supported by Kirklees Museums & Galleries Outreach Team.
The project has been running for over a year and has included a programme of wool craft sessions, outreach wool-related workshops in schools and a concert of wool-inspired music and songs.
Oral histories have also been collected about working life in the local mills and working with wool.
The culmination of this work is an exhibition that will be launched at Tolson Museum at the end of May.
Kim Strickson, of the museums service, said: “Do you have any old photographs of the mills of the Colne Valley from the early 1900s to 1980s?
“Or any images of members of your family spinning, knitting, crocheting or felting in Slaithwaite, Linthwaite, Golcar, Marsden, or Milnsbridge?
“If so, Kirklees Museums and Galleries Education and Outreach Team would like to talk to you and possibly scan your pictures for a very special exhibition”.
The exhibition will look at the textile industry in the Valley together with the more domestic skills of knitting, crocheting and felting.
Objects borrowed from residents in the Colne Valley will be on display alongside objects from the Kirklees Museums and Galleries collection. The project has collected some interesting photographs but needs more.
Anyone who can help with images that could be of interest, please contact Kim Strickson on 01484 234046 or email kim.strickson@kirklees.gov.uk before the end of March.
