Tour of a Victorian Bobbin Mill, Stott Park, Cumbria

Stott Park Bobbin Mill was opened in 1835 to supply the cotton mills of Lancashire (of which the Lake District was a part at the time) with bobbins to carry the thread which was spun into cloth. It was originally powered by a water wheel, later by a water turbine and then by a steam engine. Ultimately, electricity arrived. The mill finally closed in 1971 and then reopened in 1983 as a museum.

Today, Stott Park Bobbin Mill is in the care of English Heritage, and in this video you'll be taken on a 20-minute guided tour of the mill by one of the English Heritage staff members to see the different stages of the bobbin-making process, including some of the machines being used by a veteran mill worker.

You'll see the steam engine, although it was not, regrettably, in steam on this occasion, and get a feeling for what life was like for the mill workers – who, in this case, came mainly from the workhouses of Liverpool and Manchester.

Part of an ongoing series intended to give an insight into Britain's early industrial technology.