“Silk Museum is housed in a 19th-century art school featuring exhibits devoted to the region's silk history. Paradise Mill is the heart of the Silk Museum and is situated next door. You can discover the crucial role that their silk industry played during the Second World War. The primary attraction of the Museum is its Ancient Egyptian collections. The museum also has a permanent display of War Memorials commemorating the lives of 865 silk workers who lost their lives during the two World Wars. Silk Museum has collections of over forty Shabti and other fascinating artefacts. Visitors can see various textile machines. In addition, it displays silk dresses, maps, war memorials, parachutes, and other artefacts. They also have a disabled access entrance in this Museum. Silk Museum welcomes assistance dogs, and water bowls are available here. Paradise Mill is visited as part of a guided tour. These take place several times a day, from Wednesday to Saturday, and evoke the sounds, sights and smells of the Mill as it would have been for the silk workers. Their expert guides will let you into the secrets of this incredibly special Victorian silk mill and recount entertaining stories of some of the talented workers who produced the silk. It remains as it was when the last weavers downed tools, and has the largest collection of silk Jacquard handlooms in Europe and two of the looms are being restored so that their guides can demonstrate the silk weaving process in this working museum. The tours provide insights into the production of silk for major retailers, including Liberty, and are very popular so they encourage you to book ahead if you can.”
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