Whitchurch Silk Mill
Local highlightA Georgian watermill on the River Test that still weaves silk on Victorian looms, driven by the water wheel
On an island in the River Test at Whitchurch, a Georgian watermill has been weaving silk since the early 1800s and still does. The water wheel drives shafting that powers rows of Victorian looms, and you can watch the cloth being woven, much of it for costume and academic dress. Built around 1815, it is one of very few working silk mills left in the country. The building is small and the visit is hands-on rather than grand, a museum, a shop selling the silk, and the clear chalk stream running under the floor. The North Wessex Downs rise just to the west, and the Test Way follows the river valley north.
