PASSING through Padiham, with its busy main street, may not persuade potential tourists to stop but failure to explore its nooks and crannies would be a mistake.

Padiham was not created by the industrial revolution but it was certainly changed by the coming of cotton. The settlement was already well established before the Norman conquest and was a market town in the 15th century when Gawthorpe Hall was the most important building apart from the church.

If you fancy a stroll alongside the River Calder then Gawthorpe Woods is the choice because there is plenty of parking. You should not, however, neglect the increasingly cleaner river which runs through Padiham.

I would never want to forget Lancashire's industrial heritage, however, and I visited John Sherry at his mill on Stockbridge Road. This is a wonderful combination of a weaving shed producing towelling at the rate of three tons per week, a mill shop and a museum.

John told me that the building was erected in 1860 and for many years was known as Green Mill and which specialised in the weaving of handkerchiefs. Just imagine how important handkerchiefs were in the days before throwaway paper tissues.

Among the items for sale in the shop John Sherry displays some of the items he has collected to reflect his pride in Lancashire's cotton industry. At the entrance is an old Lancashire loom while inside is a veritable treasure house of textile treasures.

Here I was shown a card cutting machine which worked like a cross between a typewriter and a pattern making device to fit on a loom. I also saw a clocking on clock and punch and a machine called a wrap wheel. This was an accurate device for measuring out yarn. Once measured it was then weighed to ensure that it was not just length which had to be standardised but also thickness which was obviously determined by weight. John Sherry also came across a very small but fully operative Lancashire loom and he would love to know its precise function. Was it a factory display piece which salesmen could demonstrate or was it a machine built by an apprentice as part of his examination?

Does anyone know if these "mini looms" had either of these functions? and John Sherry would love to hear from anyone who worked at Greens Mill in the old days. He is hoping to compile a history and these "workers' memories" would be a vital part of this. I would also be interested to hear from readers who have memories of old Padiham.

I thought I knew a fair bit about mill architecture but John Sherry pointed out "the weavers alley" which I did not know about. In the shop he showed me the stone floor with a groove in it worn down by clogs. Good quality smooth stone was used in the alleys while rough material was used to support the weight of the looms.

In many of the old spinning mills there were often wooden floors and the people who worked in them usually worked in their bare feet.

I know of some people who think that all mill shops are the same. This is certainly not the case as each is a museum in its own right. This is certainly the case with Sherry's.

My day consisted of a walk through the town and a walk through Gawthorpe Woods, but sandwiched between was an exciting look at the history of cotton.

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