The Grade II listed 1855 building, Stour Vale Mill. Courtesy Carpet Museum Trust
Kidderminster, a town world renowned for its carpet heritage, is set to receive a £1.7 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new carpet museum, which will be housed in a Victorian-era mill.
The Carpet Museum Trust will use the Grade II listed 1855 building, Stour Vale Mill, which was originally built as a carpet factory, to celebrate the town’s long and distinguished history of carpet making.
Established in 1981 the Trust was to set up to establish a museum to preserve the memory of the Town's once dominant industry, the manufacture of carpets having been the mainstay of Kidderminster's economy since the 1730s.
Central to the new museum will be a working carpet power loom, displayed in partnership with commercial carpet weavers Grosvenor Wilton Ltd, while adjoining galleries will explore the history of the industry in Kidderminster.
The new museum for the Midlands will work to emphasise the strong community links between carpet making and the town, alongside hands-on opportunities to learn about the technical aspects of carpet production.
The central attraction for visitors will be a working power loom. Courtesy The Carpet Museum Trust
Other facilities will include relocation of the Carpet Archives Centre to the new site, an education and resource area for families and schools, a temporary exhibition area, and the display of the museums’ collection of machinery, artefacts, photographs, archives and libraries over two floors in an area of 4,267 square metres (14,000 square feet).
“This is a long awaited and eagerly supported project in Kidderminster that HLF is very pleased to support,” said Anne Jenkins, Head of HLF in the West Midlands. “We wish The Carpet Museum Trust every success with the creation of this new museum within its walls and look forward to the benefits it will bring to the local community and its visitors.”
The realisation of the project was helped by the opening of an adjoining Morrisons Supermarket, which allowed the external restoration of Stour Vale Mill to take place.
Find out more about Kidderminster's carpet heritage and the plans for the Carpet Museum at www.carpetmuseum.co.uk
