Trowbridge wool history exhibition proves a hit (From Wiltshire Times)
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Trowbridge wool history exhibition proves a hit
6:00pm Sunday 17th February 2013 in Trowbridge
Curator Claire Lyall with volunteer Lucy Smith, left, and a coat belonging to mill owner John Plummer Clark and his portrait, from about 1820
A big crowd turned out for the launch of Trowbridge Museum’s new exhibition on the woollens trade.
The Rich and Rare display, at the museum in The Shires, charts the local woollen cloth industry, working conditions, the machinery used and the story of working class hero Thomas Helliker, who was employed at a mill in Semington.
He was hanged, in March 1803, at the age of 19, for his alleged role in machine breaking.
Duncan Turner, an assistant at the museum, said the exhibition had already proved popular: “We had around 60 people at [Friday’s] official launch, with 142 people on Saturday.”
The Rich and Rare exhibition will run at the museum until August 3. For details, call 01225 751339 or see www.trowbridgemuseum.co.uk.
