Home to the UK’s largest range of bridal fabric and one of the biggest suppliers in Europe, it’s now a name known in Royal circles…
Creating the bespoke fabric to line King Charles III’s exquisite collection of Royal hats!
Inside the Anchor Mill factory, an army of specialist staff continue the age-old tradition of weaving and producing specialist neckwear for the textile industry.
Their Darwen factory remains hidden behind rows of terraced houses lining the A666, in Moss Fold Road, where it has stood for almost a century.
Since opening their first factory in 1932, now in its fourth generation, the company also produces contract furnishing fabrics such as curtains for hotels and ships.
And it offers a world-leading bespoke bridal fabrics service from their Darwen-based head office with a showroom too.
Originally known as the Lancashire Silk Mills, the business was established by German fabric importer JH Godfrey Weisters and it has remained a proud family business.
Managing Director, Duncan Weisters, and his wife Caroline work together at the company with a 50 strong army of staff across their Darwen and Macclesfield sites.
“We are incredibly proud of our heritage and humbled by the fact the majority of our staff have been with us throughout the generations over a number of decades,” Caroline says.
“We look after our staff and in turn, we have a loyal and dedicated workforce helping us to manufacture some of the world’s best cloth here – continuing the proud tradition in which our northern towns were once so heavily renowned.”
And so the company’s distinguished Royal seal of approval is something of a prestigious honour.
Caroline added: “We were commissioned to design the samples on our looms for King Charles’ hats by Marcel Rodrigues, an independent fashion label specialising in bespoke, handmade hats.
“Our designer, Louise Ingham-Waddington worked with Marcel Rodrigues to create the bespoke design which has since been approved by the Palace.
“The design features the King’s crest and also the Queen’s favourite flowers Lily of the Valley and one of the King’s favourite flowers a Clematis named after him called White King Charles.”
To find out more about Weisters, please visit: www.weisters.co.uk
Did you know?
- Over 500,000 metres of fabric are woven at Weisters each year – that’s over 310 miles worth – enough to stretch from Darwen to the white cliffs of Dover! Shop now: www.weisters.co.uk
- Fabric is shipped all over the world from Darwen – to places like Chile, the US, Iceland, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
- Around 1,300 different lace designs are stocked in Darwen – including the lace composed for the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton’s wedding dress!
- In fact, Weisters has provided many celebrities with fabric for their big days including the Countess of Wessex and British singer, Fleur East.
- A-lister Beyoncé and TV presenters Holly Willoughby and Tess Daly have also famously donned their Darwen fabrics. See their bridal website: www.bridalfabrics.com
- Weisters have recently expanded the business, added an extension and now offer a bespoke badge weaving service: www.woven-badges.com
