queen visit to burnley

HM Queen's Visit 1968

The headline in the Burnley Express Royal Visit Souvenir of the 17th May reads "Royal Tribute to Burnley's Bright Image". Film 5347 about the visit can be viewed on the North West Film Archive website.

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Royal trio to visit burnley.

The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles are coming to Burnley on Wednesday 16 May. It is unusual for the Royal Family's three most senior members to combine a visit. They are touring the UK to celebrate 60 years of the Queen's reign.

• 3 May 2012 at 12:35pm

Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles' visit to Burnley: itinerary

In a rare joint visit, the royal trio will visit:

• The Weavers' Triangle
• Victoria Mill (set to become the UK's first university technical college)
• The UCLAN/Burnley College campus on Princess Way
• Turf Moor, home of Burnley FC and the University College of Football Business, the first university to offer football-focussed business degrees
• Prince Charles
• Prince Philip

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Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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Queen Street Mill Textile Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

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Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

Queen Street Mill is the last surviving 19th century steam powered weaving mill in the world. Come along to this Grade 1 listed building and relive the days when cotton was king. 

See the mighty steam engine 'Peace' and the coal fired boilers, learn about pirn winding and drawing in and visit the weaving shed, which still contains 308 Lancashire looms.

Photo gallery

Discover the magic of the mills

Discover the magic of the mills at Queen Street Mill and its sister site Helmshore Mills Textile Museum.

Plan your visit

Opening times.

We are closed on all Bank Holidays .

We are open to schools and pre-booked group tours. If you would like to discuss booking a group tour please contact us to discuss your needs either by emailing Queen Street Mill or phoning 01282 459996.

Wednesday 27 March 2024 to Saturday 2 November 2024

• Guided tours available at no extra cost at 12:30pm and 2:30pm
• Lancashire loom demonstrations every hour starting at 12:30pm
• Last entry to the museum: 3:30pm

Admission charges from April 1 2024

• Children up to the age of 18 - free
• Friends - free (proof of membership required)
• Xplorer pass - £25

How to find us

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum Queen Street Harle Syke Burnley Lancashire BB10 2HX

Plan your journey and view  bus timetables for your area . Find out more about cheap days out by bus .

3 miles outside Burnley town centre, the number 5 bus runs regularly from the bus station and just 3 miles from Junction 12 on the M65 follow the brown signs to find us. Wheel chair accessible.

Facilities, access and contact details

• Free parking 
• Café serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and locally made cakes. Open 12pm – 3:45pm, and will stop serving food at 3:30pm. 
• Baby changing facilities
• Disabled toilets
• Assistance dogs welcome
• Full disabled access
• Exhibition space

The approach and area around the museum is flat, however the surface is flagged and uneven. You should allow at least 1.5 hours to go around the museum, visit the shop and have a drink in the cafe. The tours will be led by experienced guides who will tell you about the history of the mill, show the process of raw cotton through to woven cloth and demonstrate the machines.

See the Queen Street Mill access statement (PDF 843KB) for more detail or please ring us if you have any questions.

Contact us 

Tel:   01282 459996

Email:   [email protected]

Find us on TripAdvisor

If you've visited us recently, don't forget to leave us a TripAdvisor review .

Discover more of Lancashire's diverse history and visit one of our other Lancashire Museums . Which of our museums will you visit next?

Things to see and do

Filming projects.

As a unique heritage venue, the mill, and especially our weaving shed, has featured in many films and productions including North & South, Life on Mars and The King's Speech. The mill was used as a location for the film about how King George VI overcame a debilitating stammer after his surprise ascension to the throne. It starred Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon and Guy Pearce.

More recently scenes for the film Peterloo and the BBC 2019 series of A Christmas Carol were filmed here. As you explore the sights and sounds of the historic mill, what scenes do you remember from these popular film and TV productions?

Here's what some of our visitors had to say:

"A treasure well worth preserving & a fascinating tour."

"Great place, lovely smell and inspired exhibitions."

"One of the best tours I have ever been on! Brilliant place. Loved it. Thank you!"

"I come from an area that never did any of this, absolutely amazing!"

"Walking through glorious history."

"Quite easily one of the best museum visits I've made (and I'm 65)."

Colin Firth wrote in our visitor book that Queen Street Mill was "a thing of beauty" – and we couldn't agree more.

Queen Street Mill is a nostalgic time capsule of the late Victorian age bringing the textile industry vividly to life. Set amongst an iconic, distinctive industrial landscape shaped by chimneys, old mills and terraces it offers a truly unique experience - the world's last 19th century steam-powered weaving mill.

Imagine what life would have been like as a mill worker. You might even hear the sounds of 'Peace' the incredible steam-powered engine that powers over 300 looms in the weaving shed. Feel the power of the looms to understand why the weavers learnt to lip read.

The Mill chimney is 120 feet high, local people look out for this landmark on the skyline to know they're nearly home! It is built of brick as these could be made in the required curved shape which was easier than individually hand shaping stone. When the mill opened in 1895 Edmund Atkinson climbed to the very top of the chimney to play a cornet solo!

Did you know that the Mill pond or lodge is filled with around 500,000 gallons of water and is fed from rain water from 50% of the weaving shed roof via downspouts on the mill lodge side walls.

Don't miss the boiler house, you can only access this from outside by the stables. This is where the two Lancashire boilers, 30 ft long and 8 ft wide, generated the steam to power the mill. The boilers were made in Hyde and transported to the mill on a special trailer designed for carrying Lancashire boilers, the trailer was pulled by a steam traction engine.

Don't miss your chance to see the amazing steam engine Peace in action as it powers the looms in the mill at one our Steam Days . 

If you've visited us, what was your favourite thing you learnt about the mill? Let us know by sharing your experiences on Twitter using #QueenStreetMill  and don't forget to tag in  @LancsMuseums on Twitter  and  @LancsMuseums on Facebook .

What's on: events and exhibitions

Search for the latest events at Queen Street Mill. If there are no current events listed check back for new events soon. We look forward to seeing you.

What's On at Queen Street Mill

Our latest exhibition, running from 6 April to 2 November 2024 is Tales of Lancashire - Field and Furrow Explore Lancashire's beautiful rural landscapes in this unique exhibition from Blackburn Artists' Society.

Lancashire Museums on X

Heritage Learning Lancashire's aim is to give pupils the opportunity to explore and appreciate Lancashire's rich heritage through access to our unique collections and stimulating sites.

Find out more about Learning with Lancashire Museums .

"The students love using the items we loan from you and it adds real value to the teaching of history." Primary school teacher

Museum loan boxes

Our museum loan boxes contain a wide range of historical artefacts, replica objects and useful resources loan boxes are a great way of bringing a little bit of the museum into your classroom.

Learn more about loan boxes .

Volunteer with us

We have some fantastic volunteering opportunities at Queen Street Mill. Our wonderful vo lunteers create a warm, friendly and welcoming environment to our visitors and provide them with the knowledge and information about this historic site during their visit. 

You don’t need any previous experience or qualifications to volunteer, just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

Our current volunteer Richard shares his experience of what it's like to take on this interesting role. 

Find our more about volunteering in our museums

Richard, a volunteer at Burnley’s Queen Street Mill, said: "During a tour there can be requests for information and questions by individuals whose relatives have worked in a mill. When an answer is given – you can see the delight on their faces. It’s a case of making visitors important."

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1968 royal visit to burnley.

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You are here: Things To Do > Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

• Queen Street Mill Textile Museum

Type: Museum

Tel: 01282 459996

Experience the sights and sounds of Lancashire's industrial past when local streets rang with millworkers’ chatter and the sound of their clogs on the cobbles.  

Join a guided tour and discover what it was really like to work in a cotton mill with the sights, smells and sounds of steam. Imagine the deafening noise as nearly 1000 looms clattered throughout the day. Witness live demonstrations of working machinery and explore the lodge pond, historic steam engine and coal fired boilers.   

With panoramic views across the magnificent Calder Valley, Queen Street Mill is utterly unique as it is the last remaining steam-driven weaving shed from the 1800s. Imagine when the imposing chimney was one amongst a forest of such chimneys as far as the eye could see? 

Take the opportunity to stroll around the village of Harle Syke, once one of the most important weaving villages in Lancashire, or venture further afield on one of the many walks across this fascinating landscape.  

With rows of steam driven looms and its authentic atmosphere the weaving shed at Queen Street Mill has featured in films such as The King's Speech, Peterloo and A Christmas Carol. 

Queen Street Mill Textile Museum is currently closed for the winter and will reopen Spring 2022.

Book Tickets

In May and June 2022, National Trust members can visit Queen Street Mill and Helmshore Mills for half the normal price. Members of the National Trust, along with any friends or family members who join them, can claim their half-price entry to the mills for this limited period, by showing a valid membership card on their visit to the mills. Read more about the offer on the National Trust website. Adults £3 Concessions £2 (over 65, people with a disability, unwaged and students) Accompanied children (under 5) free Carers accompanying visitors with a disability - free Family and friends Xplorer Pass: £20 For group bookings or guided tours please contact us to discuss your needs either by email or telephone.

• VAQAS VB Attraction

Road Directions

Leave the M65 at Junction 12, and bear right towards Brierfield. Follow the brown signs. There is a free car park opposite the Museum.

Public Transport Directions

By Rail: to Burnley Central or Burnley Manchester Road station. Visitors will then need to continue by bus as below: By Bus: No. 4 or 5 to Queen Street, Harle Syke.

• Demonstrations Given
• Event Venue
• Guided Tours Available for Groups
• Marketed towards children
• Marketed towards families
• Marketed towards senior citizens
• Parking Areas for Disabled Visitors
• Seasonal Opening Only
• Toilets for Disabled Visitors

Establishment Features

• Disabled Access
• Disabled Access/Toilets

Parking & Transport

• Car Parking
• Coaches Welcome
• On site parking
• Parking (free)

Provider Preferences

• Groups accepted

TripAdvisor

Further information.

• Queen Street Mill is part of the Pennine Lancashire Museum Group
• Find out more about exploring Burnley
• Download walk around Queen Street Mill

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> Home > Her Late Majesty The Queen

Her Late Majesty The Queen

21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022

The Council mourns the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

The Mayor of Burnley, Councillor Cosima Towneley said:

“Although not unexpected, it has been impossible to prepare for a moment such as this. For most there has been nothing other than an Elizabethan era – Her Majesty has been our rock in storm and calm. A steady hand through momentous change. Hers has been a thoroughly lived life that faced its vicissitudes with grace, serenity, wisdom, fortitude, dignity, hope and humour. Burnley grieves – and our prayers lie with members of the Royal Family at this time.”

Book of Condolence

The Books of Condolence at Burnley Town Hall and Towneley Hall will close today (Tuesday 20th September) at 4pm (Towneley) and 5pm (town hall).

A county-wide online Book of Condolence has also been opened.

Public events

The Mayor of Burnley, Councillor Cosima Towneley, read a proclamation on behalf of King Charles III on Sunday 11th September at the Peace Garden.

Commemorative service – St Peter’s Church, Burnley

A special service in remembrance of the late Queen was held at St Peter’s Church, Burnley, on Saturday 17th September.

Among the speakers was the Mayor of Burnley, Councillor Cosima Towneley (below).

A county-wide Service of Thanksgiving, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Lancashire since the passing of King George VI, took place in Blackburn Cathedral on Sunday 18th September. For more details and to watch a video of the service click here .

Council services

Garden waste collections.

Garden waste collection scheduled for Monday 19 th September will be collected on Saturday 24 th September instead. Other household collections are going ahead as usual.

Floral tributes

Members of the public and others are invited to lay floral tributes in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth at the memorial in the Peace Gardens (next to the Central Library).

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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to Burnley College as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour.

The royals were introduced to a number of students from the college who showcased their work. Pupils demonstrated the latest heart rate monitoring technologies and presented fashion, textile and 3D art pieces they had created.

One of the pupils they met was fourth year Engineering apprentice Michael Yankowski. “The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh asked me about what I was studying and the type of machines I work with,” he said. “They were both really polite and it was a very surreal experience. My mum is very proud that I was selected to meet them.”

Becky Blackett, a member of the College’s Netball Academy, also met the royal party. “I got a bit tongue tied when I was speaking to the Queen but they were both really friendly and I am so pleased that I was able to talk to them,” she said.

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