Whitchurch SilkMill

Whitchurch Silk Mill has stood on the same site beside the River Test since 1830 and is the oldest silk mill in the UK still weaving commercially. Original Victorian machinery is used to throw and weave silk on looms that visitors can watch in motion, with staff on hand to explain the process. The mill closed as a commercial concern in 1985, after which the Whitchurch Silk Mill Trust, a registered charity, took over its restoration and reopened production in 2012. A shop sells scarves and fabric woven on site, and the Riverside Café looks out over the water. Tucked behind its own mill race off Winchester Street, the building keeps a working, unpolished feel rather than that of a static museum piece, with the wheel and looms still doing the job they were built for.