Please join the Icon Textile Group for an in-person visit to Gainsborough’s Mill, Sudbury, Suffolk.
We are joining the Mill as they celebrate their 120th anniversary. Delegates will be given an exclusive 'behind the scenes' opportunity to visit the Mill, guided by knowledgeable staff to see all stages of their production, including spinning, dyeing, and weaving.
About Gainsborough
Sudbury in Suffolk, England, had been a centre of silk weaving since the arrival of Huguenot weavers in the 19th Century, and it was here that Reginald Warner established the Gainsborough Silk Weaving Co. Ltd in 1903, immediately earning a reputation for high quality Damasks, tapestries and velvets.
Gainsborough was conceived in part as a specialist in historical reproductions, drawing on many of the designs Warner bought from European mills, overlaid with an English interpretation, and to this day demand remains strong for our extensive archive of historical designs and weave effects dating back as far as the 15th Century.
Fashion Designers like Giles Deacon and Christopher Kane have employed Gainsborough fabrics in recent couture collections, and St Paul’s Cathedral’s priestly vestments hail from our mill; the bespoke interiors of Bentley automobiles and Globe-Trotter suitcases have received the Gainsborough touch, as have yachts and private planes, and many restored VW camper vans, which bear a checked motif that we weave in several colours for this one purpose.
Practicalities
The group will meet outside the main entrance of the mill at 10.30am, for a 10.45am start. The tour will take two groups around the mill to see all the working areas and gain an understanding of how the mill goes about producing, and reproducing, their fabrics, many of which feature in historic houses around the country. Any additions or changes will be given to attendees the week before the visit. If you are driving there is parking on site. We encourage attendees to car share whenever possible. For those travelling by train Sudbury Station, Suffolk, is a 10-15 minute walk from the mill. This train is direct from London Liverpool Street. This visit is limited to twenty places. Please note there are two small steps within the mill so full access would not be possible to wheelchair users. Please let us know if you have any accessibility issues and we will pass your queries to the venue to confirm possible adaptations.
Additional information Gainsborough Mill are not charging us for this tour, so we would like to encourage members to bring a small amount of cash on the day for a charity collection, which we will make on their behalf. Charity to be confirmed.
Following the tour of the Gainsborough Mill, we suggest visitors may like to have lunch in town and then continue their day out to the nearby Gainsborough's House. Please indiciate if you wish to join the visit to the house when booking your ticket.
Banner image: © Alun Callender Photography