Stockport is the home of the only hat museum in the UK.

Hat Works museum is situated inside Wellington Mill, which was built in 1831 as a cotton spinning mill, before becoming a hat factory in the 1890s.

I set off to explore the factory floor, and find out a little bit about how hats used to be made.

150 years ago hats were mostly made from felt which was produced from animal fur. The process was rather gruesome.

Factory workers had to remove skin from rabbits and other furry animals. After that the long guard hairs were removed from the fur using a special tool called a Hatter’s Bow. The hatter would twang the strings and move the fur through them, and the vibrations made them fly up into the air, the fine fur would settle into a even layer.

Here is the sign explaining the Hatter’s Bow:

Below is me with a ‘Planking Kettle’. The fire underneath heated water and sulphuric acid. The hoods were dipped into the acid and rolled with a special wooden pin. The heat, moisture and friction caused the fibres to lock together into felt. After 4 hours of this process that cone would shrink to half its original size into a strong cone that could then be shaped and moulded into a hat.

This was the last hat making process to be mechanised and was used to train apprentices up until the 1950s.

The process used to make the felt hats, which involved shrinking the fur felt reminded my human of what happened when a merino wool jumper accidentally got into a hot wash, and came out very small with the fabric resembling a sort of thick felt.

Hat blocks like these were used to shape the hats.

The hat factory was a dangerous place to work, with many hazards to humans. Fur was treated with mercury which resulted in anyone working there being at risk of health problmes including brain damaged from it. This is where the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’ comes from.

In the photo below I am stood next to the tall chimney that you can see outside from quite a distance. Factories were often situated next to rivers which provided the water used in the hat making process.

Hat making eventually became more mechanised and machines were used to do some of the labour intensive processes. Hat Works museum has a collection of these machines collected from some of the various hat makers that used to be in the Stockport area.

Behind me is a forming machine, that was used to turn the loose fur into cone shapes (called hoods)

The Multi-roller below was used to shrink the hoods instead of the previously used ‘planking kettle’. The display showed a selection of hoods in different sizes illustrating how the size got smaller due to the rolling process.

Several machines assisted with shaping and blocking the hats

Here is a ‘brim breaker’ machine used to form the brims.

William Plant & Co were the last hat block makers in Northern England, and when they shut in 1976 the contents of their workshop and office were carefully removed and now displayed at the hat museum.

The old manual typewriter in the office was of interest to my human: she learnt to type on one like it that had belonged to her grandfather. Modern computer keyboards have the keys in exactly the same place so the skill was transferable!

150 years ago it was considered very important to wear a hat, so the hat making business thrived, but lifestyles and trends changed, and very few hats are now made in the UK.

Next I went upstairs to the Gallery of Hats…

There are hundreds of hats in the gallery!

I liked the one with orange splodges on but it was in the glass case so I couldn’t try it on.

I was jolly pleased to find an area with lots of hats to try on. There were a few humans enjoying trying on hats too.

More hats in glass cases.

Ecclesiastical hats

Pith helmets, which originated in The Phillipines, and made from the pith of cork trees.

Middle Eastern hats…

Uniform hats – this one is a postman’s hat.

I was absolutely delighted to find more hats to try on!

The Hat Museum could be a good place to visit to find out what sort of hat suits you!

There was even a little ironing board for small humans to do pretend ironing.

The splendid red Mini made an excellent centrepiece. My humans both used to have mini cars a bit like this one.

Before leaving Hat Works museum I visited the cafe and had a delicious piece of cake. There was a friendly atmosphere in the cafe with children doing craft activities on some of the tables.

If you are in the Manchester/Stockport area this museum really is worth visiting. At the time of writing this the museum has free entry too. The history of hat making is quite illuminating and it is fun looking a the hat gallery and being able to try on a few hats.

For more information see: https://www.stockport.gov.uk/topic/hat-works

Horace the Alresford Bear 4/11/2025