Whitworth Summer Meeting, Preston — 9th & 10th July 2025

The 2025 Whitworth Society summer meeting took place in Preston, north-west England on 10th–11th July 2025, hosted by President Rachael Hoyle. The base for the two days was the impressive Delta Marriott, and many guests met the evening before for informal drinks.

The meeting included visits to two sites at BAE Systems, where we toured three areas: the Eurofighter Typhoon manufacturing and assembly line — an insight into the techniques, machining, tooling, formworks and processes used to manufacture the Typhoon; BAE's Additive Manufacturing Facilities for polymers and metals, and how AM will be integrated into future aircraft platforms; and the Tempest Academy for Skills & Knowledge, BAE's £20m+ centre for lifelong learning.

The evening meal was held at the beautifully renovated Ye Horns Inn, a coaching inn dating back to 1782. Good weather allowed pre-dinner drinks in the beer garden before a sumptuous three-course dinner.

On Friday 11th July, Rachael hosted us at the Helmshore Mills Textiles Museum, set in two original mills within Lancashire. The mills bring the story of the textile industry to life — especially the wool and cotton processes that were once central to the region — and we were treated to live demonstrations of the original machinery still running.

The formal part of the Summer Meeting concluded with a speech from outgoing President Rachael Hoyle, who handed over the Presidential medal to David Clamp, accepting it on behalf of incoming Society President Rupert Shute who was unable to attend. The Society extends its best wishes to Rupert for his presidential year ahead.