50 objects

The Lancashire County Museum Service is 50 years old this year. To celebrate we will be exploring the history of Lancashire, its people, places and traditions through 50 objects in our collections.

Covering 9000 years of history and spanning the geography of the county, we will tell the story of Lancashire's origins including its settlers and invaders, our industries, our military heritage, our food and our famous seaside!

Each week we will release a new object representing a different aspect of the county and its history, celebrating the wealth and diversity of our heritage.

From Wednesday 29 May 2024 you can also see selected objects on display in one of our libraries or museums and attend one of our many 50 object events which will be added each week throughout the year.

This week's object:

Waterframe

The waterframe, a cotton spinning machine, was invented by Richard Arkwright (1732-1792) from Preston who is regarded as the father of the factory system. His machine could spin 96 spindles of cotton at once, and Arkwright became very rich.

This powered loom will be on display at Helmshore Mills Textile museum until 27 June 2025