The story behind Stockport’s famous hat industry…

Right in the town centre, not far from the train station is Wellington Mill, otherwise known as the ‘Hat Works Museum;’ the only museum in the UK dedicated to the hat making industry. It shares the incredible history of Stockport’s own hatting industry which dates all the way back to the 17th century. 

Ever stopped and wondered why Stockport County FC are nicknamed “The Hatters?” Well, once upon a time, Stockport boasted over 30 hatting factories in the area, producing millions of hats that were exported all over the world. These factories were each competing to be producers of the best felt hats, setting them apart from the rest of the country, most of whom produced wool hats.  

The hatters of Stopford originally used Beaver fur because its dense undercoat consisted of ‘teeth-like’ hairs that would lock the felt together, creating highly durable, dense hats that were water resistant. However, eventually, the hatters were forced to switch to rabbit fur due to the over hunting of beavers, which drove them to near-extinction. The increasing demand of Stockport’s famous hat-industry also meant that the locally bred rabbits did not meet their needs, so rabbit skins had to be imported from countries all over the world, even as far as Australia.  

The term ‘Mad as a Hatter,’ is thought to have been coined by the hatter trade within the 18th and 19th centuries, in line with the strange side effects that the workers experienced as a result of the hat making process. Many hatters in industrial towns like Stockport developed tremors, memory loss, mood changes, erratic behaviour and hair discolouration, all of which inspired Lewis Carroll’s notorious ‘Mad Hatter’ character. This was later explained as being mercury poisoning, from the mercury nitrate that was used to treat the fur used in the hats.  

The Wars and the Great Depression severely damaged the trade, leading to the closure of Stockport’s final hatting factory in 1997. Whilst there are no more active factories left in the town, you can take a visit to the Hat Works Museum which holds over 1300 hats, both from Stockport and from across the world.  

Find out more at: https://www.stockport.gov.uk/landing/hat-works-museum