It seemed proper to start with the creative backstory, so I begin at the Silk Museum. In the 16th century, Macclesfield was renowned for making buttons. When it became fashionable to cover them in silk, ever-innovative Macc thrust itself into that industry, too. The first silk mill was established in 1743; at its peak, the town had 70 mills. Today, only one remains, plus the museum’s recently restored Paradise Mill.
I join a tour with guide Tim Lightfoot, who leads us past Paradise’s clattering bobbin winder to the impressive row of Jacquard handlooms. These ingenious machines use cards with punched holes to automate the process of weaving patterns (“the start of the computer age!” said Lightfoot); following painstaking repairs, one is back in working order. On it lay a beautiful new piece of silk, inspired by patterns in the museum’s archive, woven by Manchester University students – the first fabric to be created here for at least 20 years.
For more contemporary culture, I stroll across town to meet cartoonist Marc Jackson. He runs Room for Comics, a shop and art studio – above the excellent Flour, Water, Salt artisan bakery – offering drawing classes for all ages. The space is joyous: flooded with light, weird robots scribbled all over the walls. “My classes are like The Muppet Show with felt pens,” he says.