Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills — Attraction in Leeds

This is a truly stunning and incredibly spectacular industrial museum, which charters Leeds' industrial history and the industries that led to it being one of the major industrial powerhouses of England and the rest of the UK and the museum delivers the story in such great informative, intriguing, interesting & riveting detail. What makes this museum so great and interesting along with being a strong point is the fact that it goes into and covers a variety of industries such as The Textiles Industry, Tailoring, Cinema, Corn Mill & Full Milling. Another great asset to the museum is Power House Gallery where you can the different engines that powered the machinery through the Industrial Revolution. The museum is also housed in The Armley Mills which is a former Woollen Mill giving you that further impression of the industrial presence this place has. The Textiles Galleries talks about the Woollen Trade and other Textiles Trades in Leeds how it started and the working conditions and hours for the workers. The Textiles Galleries also discusses the processes made in spinning the wool and other Textiles cloths and also The Textiles Galleries also houses the machines such as The Crompton Mule, Arkwrights Water Frame & The Roberts Fully Automatic Mule. The Textiles Galleries delivers the story of the Textiles in interesting, enthralling and riveting detail. The Textiles Gallery also houses a large magnificent Spinning Mule made by The Platt Brothers which still works and is absolute top notch condition & there are demonstrations throughout set times of the day where you can how it spins the wool and is a great demonstration to watch. The Tailoring Gallery is another fantastic exhibition which discusses the Tailoring Trade in Leeds and how it started up through pioneers such as Herman Friend, Montagu Burton and Sir John Barran and how it ended up to industrial size clothing factories that put Leeds on the map and also discusses the working conditions for the workers in the clothing factories along with the processes involved in making the Clothing. In the Tailoring Gallery you can also see some fantastic examples of garments of clothing that have been made by the famous Tailors of Leeds and also some small interesting sewing presses. The Cinema Gallery discusses how Cinema started in Leeds and how one man Louis Le Prince was responsible for it and how it conflicted with the famous American Thomas Edison and also discusses the tragic story of Le Prince. The Cinema Gallery houses some interesting Cameras to see from the different periods which are marvellous to see and In the Cinema Gallery there is 1920s style Cinema you can go inside and get a feel for what was like to watch a film during that period, which is a fantastic sight to see. Other areas of the Museum to see are The Corn Mill where you can see some brilliant machinery used in the process of milling, A Victorian Schoolroom to get a flavour of what it was like for Victorian Schoolchildren in school, Media in the Mill where you can see some excellent Printing Presses and the processes involved in printing Newspapers. The Power House Gallery houses some interesting engines that powered the machinery used to aid the Industrial Revolution and industrial rise of Leeds. In the Power House Gallery you can see a Steam Powered Fire Engine which is the best item in that Gallery due to its awesome condition. In the Opening Gallery you can also see a Scootacar, which looks particularly intriguing and interesting to look at. You can wander around the grounds where you can marvel at the brilliance of the architecture of the Mills and also see a number of great features such as the Mill Chimney, Waterwheel, Polar Bear, Wagon Boiler & Beam Engine. Housed near to the Cafe are the Cottages where you can view what living conditions were like for people who were both rich and poor and gives you an idea of the differences in living conditions. Another great feature of this place is that admission fees are an absolute bargain with £5.80 for Adults. Overall a superb place to...

Huge old mill complex a short walk from the centre of Armley and the bus routes on Stanningley Rd (there's also a sizeable free car park to the front, but it's perfectly accessible by public transport). The approach alone is very atmospheric, with the canal to one side and trees to the other. Go on a gloomy autumn or winter afternoon for the full Dickensian, slightly eerie experience! This is a very different building to Salts Mill - less dramatic in some ways, but with more hidden corners, levels, bits that have been added on the years, and much of its original contents.

The complex is huge - briefly the biggest factory in Europe - and clings to the Armley side of the Aire Valley between various Victorian engineering marvels including the steep and winding Canal Road itself, the looming railway arches and viaducts, the massive engineering works of the railway, mill races, canal and channels. There are multiple levels and galleries to explore; often you'll be by yourself and have freedom to take as much time as you need due to the sheer size of the place.

Highlights include the working looms, cinema, reconstructed Victorian home interiors and the area around the chimney stack, mill race, waterwheel and sluice, where you get a real sense of the scale of the place and the change in levels. It's a little scruffy and down at heel but I'd imagine it's much how it would have looked when it was full of workers at the height of textile production. If you want some context, a short drive or bus ride to nearby Gotts Park contains the remains of the mansion which the eponymous industrialist built so he could look over the mill - source of his wealth - in the early 1800s, lit up by night like a beacon in the valley.

Yes, it could be better presented / maintained in places but it's council owned and run and they are somewhat short of resources in the present political climate. It's still an absolute must for anyone with an interest in the Victorian period, working class / social history, industry / machinery and engineering. The smell of grease and oil transports you back to a time before everything was clean, sterile and frankly a...

I got there well before opening time as I had walked there from the hotel on Wellington Street, a distance of around a mile or maybe slightly more. I saw a spinning mule in action. This took me back over 50 years as my late grandad had been an overseer at a hosiery mill. I am sure that he took us to see the place but I doubt that any machine would have been in operation while we were there. The member of staff who had switched the machine on gave us loads of information on wool and cotton. He showed how you could strengthen the strands of wool simply by twisting them. The more twisting, the more strength. A member of staff talked to a group of young school children about how things were in war time days. He even wore a tin helmet and often blew a whistle. That must have been a day for the children to remember. There are loads of exhibits relating to various industries. I was told that you could get round the three floors in about an hour. For me, a couple of hours worked well and that included the demonstration mentioned earlier. Definitely a fiver well spent !!!! Only teas, coffee and light snacks are available but this shouldn't be an issue in view of the short period of time spent there. This turned out to be the highlight of my stay in Leeds. Sadly my other plans did not...