Whitchurch Silk Mill is a gem of industrial heritage located in rural Hampshire, on the banks of the River Test. Built in 1815 and now a working museum, it is the oldest Silk Mill in the UK still weaving silk in its original building. Our small team of highly skilled Weaver Tacklers wind, warp and weave beautiful, artisan cloth using traditional methods and historic machinery to keep critically endangered silk weaving skills alive.
From winding bobbins, to hand twisting up to 10,996 ends of a new warp, each time consuming step of the production process is done with care and attention to detail, to ensure a beautifully crafted end result. Developing thoughtful collections of Limited Edition silk scarves, every one has it’s own story; whether that be quirks of the historical machinery, marks of the talented maker whose nurtured it through production to hand finishing, customers can purchase knowing it is one of a kind.
Silk Weaving has now been listed as an endangered craft. WSM is one of only three Silk Mills left in the UK, the only one within Hampshire and across the South. Silk ribbon has been listed as critically endangered, with just four silk ribbon weavers left in the UK, one of them employed at Whitchurch Silk Mill, making our products even more unique.