ARMLEY MILLS – WORKING IN THE MILL HOUSE
As part of our trip to Armley Mill in Leeds, we spent time exploring the different roles of workers in the mill house: overlooker, doffer, piecer and scavenger. Our Gaffer for the day was rather loud, scary and menacing with a stick. We certainly did not argue with anything.
As we explored the different areas of the mill, we tried out different jobs – many of which would have been very dangerous. Some of our class did not actually make it out of the machinery in time – Emily and George were not very good at timekeeping! As we watched the mill machinery in action a few of us got a little worried that we would have to work on it. However, we used a makeshift one to try out the jobs.
After a morning in the mill, many of us realised it would not have been the most suitable job for us.