Leigh Spinners Mill Heritage Centre

The Heritage Centre sits on the first floor of Leigh Spinners Mill, a large listed cotton mill on Park Lane that now houses many independent businesses, creative groups and community spaces. Inside the centre, displays, photographs and artefacts tell the story of the mill, the families who ran it and the people who worked there. The highlight for children is the Mayor and Mayoress steam engine, a huge Yates and Thom cross compound engine from 1923 that volunteers have been restoring, and which shows how a mill once ran on steam. Visitors walk through a reconstructed mill worker's kitchen and lounge, and there is a scutching room with original machinery and a spinning mule that is being brought back into working order. The centre suits school groups, history-minded families and anyone curious about how Lancashire's cotton industry shaped local life. The rest of the building has cafés and other attractions to combine with a visit.