Monthly Meeting 2 May 2023
2.30 at the Palmer Hall

Our speaker for May will be Ian Mackintosh from Stroud Textile Trust.

Ian is a retired History teacher living in Stroud and has spent many years researching the
history of the area, particularly the mills. He is a founder member of the Stroudwater Textile
Trust which is a volunteer charity over 20 years old. It promotes awareness of the local textile
history, interest in textiles and runs two small museums near Nailsworth – the Weaving Shed
at Gigg Mill and the Dunkirk Mill Museum.

Dunkirk Mill is one of the largest and most attractive of the Stroud Valley Mills. Now it is
mostly converted into flats after many years of dereliction. This talk reveals the story of how it
came to be so imposing and its contribution to cloth-making and other industries locally. In
the small museum there are historic machines that contributed to the unique finish of
broadcloth as well as a large waterwheel driving some of the machinery

Sue Martin

Programme Secretary