Verdant Works, Dundee
Dubbed Juteopolis because of its dominant role in the jute trade in the 19th century, Dundee was once home to 130 jute mills. Working conditions were so tough that in the run-up to the first world war, half of the men from Dundee who volunteered for the army were rejected on the basis they were “undersized, underfed and under strengthened”. At Verdant Works, a former jute mill turned textile heritage attraction, social history is tangible, especially if you visit on one of the two days each week when volunteer Lily Thomson is on duty. Lily started working at one of the jute mills when she was 15 and has been volunteering at Verdant Works for 25 years. An expert demonstrator of the mill’s machinery (some of it more than 100 years old), she has plenty of anecdotes to share.
£11.75, verdantworks.co.uk
