An exhibition showcasing how girls working in Lancashire’s mills were glamourised to sell fabrics overseas and portray the textile industry as a modern and desirable place to work is open in Burnley.
‘Cotton Queens’ runs until Friday 27 November from 12pm to 5pm at Queen Street Mill.
The exhibition explores the history of the cotton and textile queen competitions and the propaganda that surrounded them.
Jennifer Ingham, Lancashire County Council’s museum manager at Queen Street Mill, said: “This exhibition is really fascinating.
“The Cotton Queens made the cotton industry attractive in the Great Depression and again in the 1950s.
“The mill girls were definitely part of a package of propaganda selling Lancashire cotton and the textile industry as an attractive occupation and the fashionable fabric to wear.
“The exhibition includes a mixture of first-hand accounts, research, newspaper articles, a dress worn by a mill girl and posters.”
Although the exhibition is free to attend, admission to Queen Street Mill is £3 for adults and £2 for concessions. Accompanied children and Burnley residents go free.
