Thwaite Watermill Museum sits on a tranquil island surrounded by the River Aire and the Aire and Calder Navigation. The site houses one of the last examples of a working water-powered mill in Britain and has a history dating back as far as 1641, when King Charles I was on the throne!

During its long working life the mill site served a variety of industrial purposes, from fulling (a textiles process) to producing putty for sealing window frames, and provided a home for generations of families. Originally opened as a museum in 1990, the site was managed by Leeds Museums and Galleries until 2024, when the museum closed and the lease was returned to the Canal and River Trust. Thwaite Mills offers a unique lens through which to view many aspects of local social and industrial history.