Armley Mills, once the world’s largest woollen mill, is now an award-winning industrial museum.
Exhibits dating from the 18th and 19th centuries show the history of textiles, clothing, engines and locomotive manufacture in the area. The museum also illustrates the history of cinema projections, including the first moving pictures taken in Leeds, as well as 1920s silent movies. During the regular 'working weekends' several exhibits are operated including water wheels and a steam engine.
There have been mills on this site since the 17th century, the original buildings having been developed in the late 18th century when a woollen mill and a corn mill were built. A fire in 1805 destroyed these mills but they were rapidly replaced with the building which can be seen today. From the early 19th century Armley Mills became one of the world's largest woollen mills, continuing the cloth-making tradition until Leeds City Council took over the mills in 1969 in order to create a museum illustrating the mills' and the city's industrial past.
For further information see the Armley Mills website
The Schoolroom
The Schoolroom is available to pupils at KS1 and KS2 and is free to schools within the Leeds Education Authority.
The Schoolroom enables pupils to experience, in costume and in role, either the timetable of a typical Victorian Board school, or a 1940s classroom, where children prepare to become evacuees.
The Victorian Schoolroom session gives pupils the opportunity to explore the timetable of a typical school of the School Board era 1870 - 1901. In an authentic classroom, pupils follow a timetable based on the 3 Rs under the watchful eye of the school "ma'am".
The Forties classroom session gives pupils a taste of school in Leeds in 1940, just after the outbreak of the Second World War. Children learn what to do in the event of a gas attack and an air raid, learn how to Dig for Victory and prepare to become evacuees.
The Schoolroom provides children with a living history experience and enriches history topics as outlined in the National Curriculum and QCA documents. It offers cross-curricular dimensions and is sufficiently flexible to support a local history topic.
The role play sessions last a morning and there are several optional activities offered to schools in the afternoon such as discovering the life of a mill child, a weaving workshop, looking at toys from the past and watching films on the theme of evacuation in the museum's 1930s cinema.
An area is provided for eating packed lunch.
A visit encourages enjoyment in learning and has been found to motivate pupils, arouse their curiosity and make the abstract more concrete.
To book the schoolroom and for further details, please contact Linda Stansbie on Leeds 0113 279 7326.
Location:
Armley Mills, Canal Road, Armley, Leeds, LS12 2QF. We are 2 miles west of Leeds city centre, just off the A65.
Tel: 0113 263 7861
Fax: 0113 224 4365
or email Armley Mills
Opening times:
Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 - 17:00, Sunday 13:00 - 17:00. Last admission at 16:00.
We are also open on bank holiday Mondays.
Admission price:
£3 adults, £1.50 concessions and £1 children (accompanied by an adult).
Armley Mills Learning Centre Programme
Workshops KS1 and 2
Mill Children; Through an interactive, object based session, students will be able to experience what it might have been like to live and work as a Victorian child.
Students will have the opportunity to dress up as mill children and experience interactive audio tours that bring the characters to life…
Extras; half day activity, free to Leeds schools, KS1 and 2, History
Workshops KS2 and 3
My journey with objects… Armley Mills and its collections can be used as a stimulus for pupils to explore opportunities for creative writing.
Discover what life might have been like inside a Victorian Mill or investigate the locomotive gallery and tell the story of Junin, the Chilean engine!
The possibilities for expressing ideas though poetry or storytelling are endless. In order to tailor this workshop to individual requirements, a pre-visit is necessary.
Extras; half day activity, free to Leeds Schools, KS2 and KS3, English
Workshops KS3
From fleece to fashion Take a look at the textiles process from raw fleece to finished garment all under the one roof. Students will have an opportunity to research processes, in particular the textile process at Armley Mills.
They will also have the opportunity to work collaboratively, using new technology, to present their research in a meaningful and exciting way.
Extras; half day activity, free to Leeds Schools, KS3, Textiles Technology, Design and Technology Key Skills
Factory Reform Challenge Engage with the English and history curriculum in a fun and exciting way. Armley Mills provides the stimulus for students to explore the theme of nineteenth century factory reform.
Students are set the challenge of collecting evidence from the Mill to support their arguments for factory reform (in groups). Extension activities available on request.
Students will have the opportunity of using new technology to present their argument in a variety of methods, from filming a drama performance to using laptops, digital cameras and Ipods to put together an interactive PowerPoint presentation.
Extras; half day activity (whole day available on request), free to Leeds schools, KS3, History and English, Citizenship
Silver Screen With screenwriter and digital artist Christine Wilks and linked to the Museums permanent collections.
Join Christine at Leeds' Industrial Museum and inspire your pupils to interact with the collections and create their own scripts. Using new technology, students may also have the opportunity to bring their scripts to life through digital media in an amazing and inspiring setting.
Extras; Half Day Activity, Free to Leeds Schools in the spring term. A charge will be applied after this. KS3 and KS4 media studies.
Key Stage 4
Customer services in a museum setting Tailored specifically to meet the needs of Applied GCSE Leisure and Tourism students, this workshop is supported by web content on the Yorkshire Museums website
The workshop has been developed with and by teachers and museums staff to ensure that the experience meets all students coursework requirements.
Students will have access to the site, staff and web/written materials during their visit.
Extras; half day activity (whole day available on request), free to Leeds Schools
For more information or to make a booking, please contact 0113 263 7861.
Wheelchair access:
Ramped access (some ramps are steep), toilets and lift.
Facilities:
Gift shop, picnic area and free parking.
Public transport: Armley Mills is located on a well serviced bus route. Please contact Metroline for up-to-date travel information on (0113) 245 7676 or see the Metro Journey Planner
Mailing list
For further information on events and activities at Armley Mills and details about Leeds Museums and Galleries join our mailing list at museumsmailinglist@leeds.gov.uk or write to: Museums and Galleries, Marketing Department, Leeds City Council, 8W Merrion House, FREEPOST NAT19236, Leeds, LS2 8AL.