EXQUISITE dresses worn by the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman have been made using material produced at Whitchurch Silk Mill.

Period film and television drama buffs would have seen costumes made from the mill’s silk in Lark Rise to Candleford, and Jane Austen epics such as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and even the Harry Potter films.

The mill has also produced silk used for Cliff Richard’s pyjamas and for a gown worn by the infamous Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Sitting on the River Test in the centre of Whitchurch, the mill, which was built in 1800, is more than a museum – it is, in fact, England’s oldest working silk mill.

In the past, its looms have woven the linings for the one time Basingstoke-based mackintosh maker Burberry, and made university and court gowns for Ede and Ravenscroft, which once owned the mill.

And according to the museum’s general manager Stephen Bryer, the mill even made judges’ wigs from horsehair.

Today, in addition to welcoming visitors to experience the clacking and clatter of its Victorian looms, the mill very much relies on commissions for high-quality silk for theatrical costumes, interior designers and historic houses.

“Our customers are very varied,” said Stephen, who capably juggles what appears to be the roles of being a museum curator, researcher and commercial director.

“We are currently weaving a fabric for a blinds interior designer, and London hatters Lock & Co have asked us to weave herringbone scarves for them again for Ascot.

“There is also an exciting project brewing with Winchester Cathedral, which is commemorating the publication of the King James Bible, which was in 1611, which we hope to be involved with. I’m also researching some 1714 fabrics for Llanelly House in Wales.”

Back in 2003, the Georgian house in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, featured in BBC2’s Restoration series in which it was championed by the flamboyant designer and television personality Laurence Llewelyn Bowen.

“It didn’t win an award on the programme. However, the Welsh Assembly and the Heritage Lottery Fund have, to a large extent, funded the work which needs to be done on this property to take it back to what it was like in 1714,” said Stephen.

Producing bespoke orders is a time-consuming process, often taking months to complete because of the intricate nature of setting up the looms.

“We’re setting up our own collection of fabrics which will be immediately available,” said Stephen.

“We are weaving some silk and linen fabrics called the Spencer Stripe, which have proved successful, along with some complementary taffetas. They are going to be launched in London at The Chelsea Design Centre in September, which is very exciting for us.”

Today, the mill employs 12 mostly part-time people, but it was once a major employer for the area.

Stephen said: “I looked at the 1841 census and there were 80 employees listed as working at the mill, from young children to a 70-year-old.

“The children were described as silk winders – they would have been winding silk on to bobbins.”

Today, visitors can get a flavour of what the mill was like during the 19th century, when it was known as the Victoria Watermill, especially when the looms are going at full swing.

“When the looms are going, they make a sensational noise and they can be hazardous, because the shuttles can fly out,” said Stephen.

“They go at about 50 miles an hour and there are holes in the walls to testify this.

“That’s why we have guards in the windows. In the past, the workers would have had to go in the river to retrieve the shuttle.”