New Exhibition opens at Goole Museum: ‘A Stitch in Time: The Story of Burton’s Factory’

A brand-new exhibition, ‘A Stitch in Time: The Story of Burton’s Factory’ is set to launch at Goole Museum on Saturday, 28 September.

The launch event is open to all and will take place between 10am and 12pm.

Based on memories, photographs and objects donated by former factory workers, the exhibition explores 70 years of social history at Goole’s Burton clothing factory.

The factory, which was opened by the Princess Royal in 1949, specialised in manufacturing suits. It provided work for around 500 employees in Goole, most of which were women, and was the beating heart of the town’s industry for several decades until its closure in 2019.

Amongst other things, the exhibition looks at the type of work which took place in the factory, but also the sense of community which was experienced both inside and outside of the workplace.

Goole Museum Curator Dr. Alex Ombler said:

“We’ve been working on this exhibition since January. We started to collect memories and curate objects relating to the Burton’s factory and the response from people in Goole has been fantastic.

‘’We held two memory cafés at the museum and was delighted to see that former employees and their family members came forward in their dozens with stories and artefacts. We even managed to acquire film footage from inside Burton’s!” 

Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said:

‘’We are delighted to see that so many people from the local Goole community and surrounding area have come forward to contribute to this fascinating piece of history. Burton’s factory is at the centre of Goole’s industrial identity and celebrates the story of the many people, mostly women, who worked there over the years and were invaluable to the community.’’

The exhibition will remain in Goole Museum until 29 March 2025. Admission to the museum is free.

For more information on this event and what can be found at East Riding Museums visit: What’s on (eastridingmuseums.co.uk)