The Woollen Mill
Andrew Davies AM officially opens the Woollen Mill Project
The Woollen Mill project was officially opened on the 23rd of March 2007 by Andrew Davies AM with guest Edwina Hart AM.
"This
project is a tribute to an industry that historically provided hundreds
of jobs and will now create employment as well as leisure and tourism
opportunities in the modern day. This is a great example of how European
Structural Funds can make a positive difference to a region. We will
build on this success during the next round of funding which is due
to begin later this year."
Andrew
Davies AM
New employment opportunities will become available at a new woollen mill project at the Gower Heritage Centre, near Swansea and was officially opened on Friday, March 23 (4.30 pm) by Andrew Davies, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks. Over the last 12 months work has been going on at the Centre to create a display which illustrates the history of the woollen industry in south-west Wales using equipment from the former Abbey Woollen Mill at Neath and shows how fleece is turned into a finished fabric. Roy Church, Trustee of the Gower Heritage Centre explained: "Today there are no longer any working weaving mills in the area yet at one time there was a thriving industry employing hundreds of people. Little however, remains today of those times.
"This
new display features working exhibits from the former Swansea Maritime
and Industrial Museum now replaced by the new National Waterfront Museum.
In partnership with Swansea Museum Services and supported by the European
Union's Objective One Programme through the Welsh Assembly Government,
we are now able to create our own woollen mill in an existing craft
display within the grounds of the Heritage Centre. It's an exciting
venture."
Roy Church, GHC Trustee
Mr Church said apart from the equipment used from the old Abbey Works at Neath there was machinery from Cwmllwchwr Mill at Ammanford. The Neath Abbey Mill was one of the last major mills in the area to close in the 1970's and was particularly important because it was one of the few mills that carried out the entire process of fabric production from fleece to fabric under one roof. Products included blankets , throws and even shawls for babies. He said that in Gower there were a number of small mills operating until the 1920's- most of them run by the Tanner family. They produced a unique Gower Blanket with a particular red weave pattern known as Minka. At Parkmill near the water mill at the Heritage Centre a fulling mill was set-up in the 19th century. Fulling is a process of washing the cloth to encourage shrinking. In Wales these mills were called Pandy. At one time on the Gower sheep were a major source of fleece for the local industry and many farms had facilities for washing sheep prior to shearing. Mr Church added that the new display at the Gower Heritage Centre would include a Dobcross Loom which was one of the main machines used in the production of finished cloth.
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All imagery © Gower Heritage Centre 2007.
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