COLDHARBOUR Mill Museum will be firing the vintage boilers for a Bank Holiday Monday treat when it celebrates one of its oldest steam engines and brings to life British social history.

A wide number of engines will be in steam from 10.30am – including the only preserved Kittoe and Brotherhood beam engine in existence, 150 years old this year. Built in 1867, the four-column engine was originally used by the Albion Brewery in Whitechapel Road, Bethnal Green, before falling into disrepair. Rescued by the Science Museum it has now been lovingly restored by Coldharbour Mill’s steam team and is now a fully working exhibit – housed in the original beam engine house on site.

Coldharbour Mill, on the banks of the River Culm at Uffculme, is one of the country’s oldest working woollen mills having been in continuous production since 1797 – and a must for both steam and heritage enthusiasts. Today, the mill continues to manufacture high quality yarn and cloth using traditional methods.

Visitors can also enjoy an active opportunity to see how wool is made into the mill’s own yarn and textiles on vintage factory machines, and to experience first-hand how the Victorians revolutionised textile manufacturing by harnessing steam to turn this once cottage industry into a thriving textile mill supplying yarn and cloth throughout the world.

Exhibitions and displays include: dolls houses, industrial abstract art, model railways and the fascinating story of the Fox family business that operated the mill for 200 years.