Macclesfield Silk Museum receives COVID-19 recovery funding

Home of the silk industry 

Macclesfield was once the world's largest producer of finished silk. The town was home to 5,000 looms and 71 factories. Its skyline is shaped by mills and its cobbled streets are lined with rows of workers’ cottages. 

Macclesfield Silk Museum manages several buildings and collections in the town. 

NHMF funding

A substantial reduction in visitor numbers and business income during the pandemic has significantly reduced museum funds, including for repairs. This has placed the already-vulnerable buildings and their collections at risk. 

Thanks to a £308,975 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), the museum will take the first steps in safeguarding the heritage assets’ long-term future. 

A new 125-year lease will be secured for the top floor of the Grade II listed Paradise Mill, which houses Europe’s largest known collection of Jacquard silk handlooms in their original setting. The lease will ensure critical repairs to the roof and the reinstatement of a lift, opening up public access.

The windows of the Grade II* listed Old Sunday School will be repaired and replaced, enabling the building to fully reopen to the public and generate income.  

Finally, the Silk Museum’s environmental controls will be upgraded to improve storage and conservation, including for a significant collection of silk pattern books and textiles. Alarm systems will also be replaced.

NHMF’s COVID-19 Response Fund

The £308,975 funding comes from the government’s Cultural Assets Fund, which NHMF has distributed as part of our wider £40m COVID-19 Respond Fund.