Otterburn Mill

Otterburn Mill

Otterburn Mill is a mill in Otterburn, Northumberland, northeast England. It lies just south of the Otterburn Tower along the A696 road next to a bridge over the River Rede.^[1] It was owned by the Waddell family for many years and is over 250 years old.^[2] The mill is noted for its pram rugs and its crowning moment was on the birth of Princess Elizabeth in 1926, when Buckingham Palace contacted the mill requiring a small rug for the royal pram. It is now a retail outlet, with a restaurant and coffee shop and nursery.

History[]

Otterburn Mill coffee shop

Dating from the 18th century,^[3] Otterburn Mill was leased in 1821 to William Waddell. (Waddel, the son of a Jedburgh wool manufacturer, had recently arrived in the area having eloped across the border from Scotland with a young bride).^[4] What began as a cottage industry grew, under successive generations of Waddels, into a factory-based operation as production became increasingly mechanised.

In the twentieth century, Otterburn Mill became 'a brand leader in woven cloths';^[4] its distinctive tweeds were used by some of the leading fashion houses of Europe, including Dior, Balmain, Schiaparelli and Paquin.^[4] They were also popular for rural pursuits among the aristocracy and Queen Alexandra was a keen purchaser of the mill's wares.^[5]

By the 1970s the textile industry in Britain had gone into decline; manufacturing ceased at Otterburn in December 1976. Twenty years later John Waddel sold the buildings to Euan Pringle; they were converted for retail, with historic machinery and other items retained for display.^[6]

Gallery[]

This water turbine powered the mill from 1890 until the 1950s (replacing a pair of water wheels).
Fulling stocks (19th century).
A Cornish boiler provided hot water and steam for the washing and finishing process.^[7]
Scouring (washing) machine
Spin dryer
Teazle gig (used to raise the surface of the finished cloth to make it fluffy)
Early 18th-century tenter frame