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Newsletter
Issue: 26 November 2015
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Hitting the Headlines
We’ve been in the news recently with the announcement that the first phase of rescuing the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is complete.
This phase is, of course, culminating with the opening of our brand new visitor centre and education rooms on November 25th and it’s great to see the anticipation building. It has been a long journey and we would like to thank everyone who has supported the Friends, helped us, volunteered for us and been passionate about helping us to conserve this internationally important heritage site alongside Historic England and Shropshire Council.
If you haven’t read our blogs about how we finally made it to this point then please take a look here, and do follow us on there and on Twitter and Facebook
You can catch up with the press coverage on Shropshire Live and in the Shropshire Star
We were also featured on BBC Midlands Today on the 17th of November and on Radio Shropshire on the 9th
(The interview starts at around 2 hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds)
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LET’S NOT FORGET THE CHILDREN
Our research has shown that a great many children worked at the mill. Such was the need for child labour a new Apprentice House was built within the compound of the mill in 1812. This still stands on the site today
The census of 1851 also shows that of 377 local employees, 35 per cent of them were children under the age of 16. Information on the children of the mill is contained within the exhibition at the Visitor Centre.
You can read about the people of the Flaxmill, and our ongoing research on our Blog here.
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IT’S INTERACTIVE, IT’S FREE AND IT’S FOR YOU
We can’t wait to welcome visitors to the site when we officially open next week.
The visitor centre brings together for the first time interpretations of the mill’s role in the industrial revolution and the
pioneers who made it happen, including:
- details on how flax was processed, from the field to the end product, which include a myriad of items from ship sails to playing cards.
- the impact of the building’s revolutionary iron frame on the world of architecture
- details of the mill’s machinery and technology
- working conditions at the mill, including child labour
- the change of use from Flaxmill to Maltings and the malting process
There will also be a short animated film that visitors can watch which charts the history of the building and its people, as well as well as oral history recollections of people who worked at the Maltings and who were barracked there during the last war.
There are interactive, hands on, elements and best of all - it’s free!
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Visitor Centre Opening Times
Initially the Centre will be open for the whole week from the 25th of November to the 1st of December, 10 am to 3 pm daily.
Opening times are then as follows:
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2 December 2015 - 26 March 2016, Saturdays only, 10 am to 4 pm
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31 March 2016 – 29 October 2016, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
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Closed 25 - 26 December and 1 - 3 January
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Monday Drum Workshops at Flaxivity
Every Monday, 7 to 9pm
For more information contact:
Olugbala Kokumo
Author, Composer & Facilitator
07403547153
olugbalakokumo@yahoo.co.uk
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The Friends are supported by:
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The visitor Centre is part funded by:
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