A Cloth for the Lost Mills

A project by Hannah Lamb & Hannah Robson, with photography by Carolyn Mendelsohn. It was commissioned by 509 Arts, first exhibited at Salts Mill in May 2024, now in the collection of Bradford District Museums and Galleries

Image by Carolyn Mendelsohn, Textile installed at Dalton Mill

A Cloth for the Lost Mills pay homage to Bradford’s textile industries, echoing the fading rhythms of place and people. Hannah Lamb and Hannah Robson were keen to convey thier deep respect for the skill, experience and dextrous hands of textile workers.

The result is a large-scale woven and printed cloth, made in Bradford an inspired by their visis to ‘lost’ textile mills.

The woven cloth was designed and woven by Hannah Robson, using a power jacquard loom at Bradford School of Art. They is layered with printed imagery by Hannah Lamb, including the names of the lost mills and the year of their demise.

Bringing the cloth to the centre of former textile communities was an important part of this project. Photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn has captured the wrk at derelict mill sites around the Bradford district.

With thanks to: Bradford School of Art (Bradford College), Anand Milan Elderly Centre, The Photo Archive of Bradford District Museums & Galleries.