For thousands of years sheep have been grazing the pastures of Britain. Wool has long been one of our greatest natural resources, exported globally and revered for the different characteristics of the 72 distinct British Sheep Breeds.
We are also lucky enough to have many small-scale wool mills across the UK that process scoured fibre into the skeins and balls of wool that we work with as crocheters, knitters and weavers. New Lanark, John Arbon Textiles and Garthenor Organic were all born from the ideals of previous generations, but what is the current generation up to?
Scotland – New Lanark Mill
New Lanark Mill in central Scotland is nestled at the bottom of a wooded valley, with the powerful River Clyde running through it and providing hydropower. Originally an isolated cotton mill community built in the 1800s, New Lanark is probably what people think a woollen mill looks like with its long, looming brick buildings.
The mill became famous at the turn of the 19th Century when it was taken over by Robert Owen who reformed the mill to provide better working, living and social conditions. At the time, this humanitarian approach to create an ‘ideal’ working mill community was unusual.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, you can visit the mill, walk through factory buildings, school and family cottages and experience what life was like as a mill worker.
Now a multi-use site with the visitor attractions, Youth Hostel, hotel, countryside walks, shop and café, the real attraction (for me at least) is a working 19th Century Spinning Mule. It is still used to produce the wool for New Lanark Spinning, fibre spinning commissions and famous haute couture brands.
Although the wool production is only one small part of the overall site, it helps to tell the story of the community and convey just how hard children and adults had to work, even under an enlightened factory owner. Being able to see the sheer size, noise, and speed of the Spinning Mule as their wool is produced is both fascinating and humbling. New Lanark is unlike any other wool mill in the UK and well worth a visit.
New Lanark Mill Details
- Website: New Lanark Mill
- Online Wool Shop: New Lanark Spinning Co.
- Instagram: New Lanark Spinning
England – John Arbon Textiles
John Arbon Textiles was founded in 2001 and until mid-2022, it was owned and managed by John and Juliet. Between them they created a mill in North Devon full of beautiful vintage machinery producing wool and fibre tops to crafters, predominantly from locally sourced wool. Having nurtured the mill and their growing team over their 21-year tenure, they retired, and the mill is now co-owned by Sonja and Helena.
Far from being strangers to the mill, they had both worked there for over five years before they took on ownership. Neither of them particularly planned to become wool mill owners and yet, because of their love of hand crafting and British wool, here they are – young, dedicated and talented owners of a worsted wool mill.
When talking to them, it’s very clear that they have shared beliefs. They both love that they are making something that is sustainable, locally sourced whenever possible, that they make goods that people are genuinely excited about and bought for a purpose that is beneficial to mental health. Whilst they are still fairly new to being Mill Owners, they have plans to build on the foundations laid down by John and Juliet.
The biggest initial change that the team was working towards would affect four of their nine yarn ranges, especially to their beloved Knit By Numbers range. The plan was to decrease the amount of Merino used by 50% and to make up the remainder with British grown Bluefaced Leicester (BFL).
There are two main environmental reasons for adding BFL into the blend. The first is the obvious reduction in transportation – BFL can be bought nationally and locally which drastically reduces the environmental impact of importing Merino from the Falklands, which is some 8000 miles away from the mill.
Secondly, Merino isn’t particularly hardwearing, but it is very soft and warm and so is favoured by many hand-crafters. It’s quick to pill and the soft fibres wear down more rapidly than BFL. By swapping 50% of the Merino content with BFL, handmade items, particularly garments because of their high-impact areas like the cuffs, collars and underarms will last significantly longer.
Not content with relying on their own knowledge that the addition of BFL will create a more durable yarn, the team are also working towards having each of their blends officially stress tested.
If you have ever been in an IKEA store, you may have seen their display of what looks like a mechanical bum being repeatedly lowered onto a chair to test its durability. The knitted swatch stress test will do a similar job, resulting in data-based evidence around the benefits of swapping 50% of the Merino for BFL and give them a baseline for all of their yarns.
A longer-term project is to work closely with their British Wool Board Depot to make use of the different breeds that are available to them. This would see their existing Exmoor Zwartbles range shift to a Devon Naturals range (4ply and DK) that focuses on different breeds, depending on what is available from the local depot in the right quality and quantity. It’s a great way for customers to explore more of the British Breeds as tops and yarns and for John Arbon Textiles to support the wool industry.
Great news – the Devon Naturals range is now available, making great use of Exmoor Blueface, Zwartbles, Grey Exmoor Blueface and Romney fleeces. I have squished all of them and they are fabulous!
exciting things from John Arbon Textiles
- The Annual 4 will launch September 2024 and it’s full of knitting and crochet patterns (including Rambling Rose Wrap and Blanket by me!) and puzzles.
- You can visit the Mill Shop at South Molton, Devon (phone ahead)
John Arbon Textiles Details
- Website: John Arbon Textiles
- Instagram: @jarbontextiles
Wales – Garthenor Organic
Garthenor Organic was created by Sally, a woman on a very clear mission to produce organic yarn in Wales from small flocks, including her own. Back in 1999, the pathway for creating organic anything was far from easy. If you have ever met Sally at a yarn show, you will see quiet, unrelenting determination to create and sell amazing, organic wool with clearly defined environmental credentials.
Working with the Soil Association, she helped write the first ever organic standards for woollen yarns and in 2003, Garthenor was the first ever company globally to produce a certified organic wool yarn.
Within farming and agriculture-based businesses, there is often an expectation that the farm and lifestyle will be passed down through the family tree. That was never really Sally’s intention for the farm, or the business and pressure was never placed on any of her three children to be part of Garthenor.
And yet, in 2017 Jonny, Sally’s son joined the team and from a customer’s point of view it was obvious that there was another pair of hands on deck. Sometimes, when you know a company well enough, you can see when big changes occur. Jonny’s arrival at Garthenor initially brought about more marketing development and customer-focussed interactions. Recently though, Garthenor has made some huge changes and have been busy building up their own mill processing in Cardigan, West Wales. According to Sally, she “never planned to get to this point, but when Jonny came onboard, the mill option became a possibility”.
Over the years they have done parts of the yarn finishing process such as skein winding and labelling up at the farm. Having outgrown the space available and with Jonny onboard, the decision to expand their operation into an industrial unit was made. In early 2022, the existing machines were moved from the farm to the new mill space and more machinery and team members are being added as they continue to increase their fibre processing capacity at Cardigan.
Environmental principals continue to be at the very heart of their decision-making process. The more of the manufacturing they actively do from Cardigan, the easier it is to provide traceable, ethical yarns.
There are other clear benefits too. It can take up to two years from the point of buying fleece from the shepherd to having it made into yarn available to buy from their online shop. By processing the scoured fleece in-house, that timeline could drop to as little as four weeks for undyed yarn and eight weeks for dyed yarn.
By owning the manufacturing process, they control the timeline for producing their yarn. This drastically shorter timeframe allows Garthenor to be more reactive to changes within the yarn industry such as the popularity of yarn colours, blends, and weights.
There is no doubt that they will go from strength to strength. Jonny says he has “a very big plan for Garthenor – the next 20 years are mapped out”.
The unit at Cardigan is large and there are long-term plans to add a finished goods area where Garthenor wool could be made into knitted and woven goods. There is also space where craft classes could be held. All these elements fit well with their overall plan for in-house woollen spinning and increased worsted yarn preparation.
exciting things from Garthenor Organic
- You can often catch Jonny live on Instagram for ‘Transparency Tuesday’ when he answers questions on their process from fleece to yarn
- The Mill Shop is now open at Cardigan, Wales (phone ahead to visit)
Garthenor Organic Details
- Website: Garthenor Organic
- Instargram: @garthenor
To Finish
New Lanark, John Arbon Textiles and Garthenor Organic are three mills with three very different stories. The shared common ground is a passion for and dedication to producing top quality British wool.
As founders, John, Juliet, and Sally have and are creating fantastic lineage through these next generation of mill owners. It will be exciting to see how Helena, Sonja and Jonny make their stamp on the British wool industry.
