Explore a mill worker's cottage

Oak Cottages at Styal Village

In the 1970s, when the National Trust was thinking about the future of Quarry Bank they had the foresight to leave one of the cottages in the village untouched, doing only the necessary maintenance to preserve No. 13 Oak Cottages for the future. The cottage is full of atmosphere and retains its original features and decoration and has been waiting for the time we could open it.

We will be opening a worker's cottage in 2017, and reveal to you this authentic building, which will feel untouched and atmospheric. The presentation will evoke the past, capturing your imagination and immersing you in the lives of mill worker families.

A 'welcome hub' will be created in the village shop to provide a focal point to explore the village and a starting location for tours of the worker’s cottage. There will be a permanent exhibition space in the hub, drawing on our archive and oral histories to tell the stories of life in Styal and of the workers who called this village home.

Making Styal Village part of the Quarry Bank experience will open up this under-explored part of the site and enable you to engage with the stories of the mill workers in their homes.

We are very excited about the possibilities that the Quarry Bank Project will provide for visitors so watch this space for future developments.

Mill workers at Quarry Bank
Mill workers at Quarry Bank
Mill workers at Quarry Bank