Victoria Carpets was founded in 1895 and moved to Kidderminster in 1899 but they haven’t always produced carpets.

During World War II a number of employees worked on assembling Ford V8 engines under licence for the Bren-Gun Carriers.

Some of the looms at the factory were converted to weave knapsack webbing to support the war effort.

A long standing supplier to the royal family, the company received the royal warrant in 2013, having supplied the red carpet for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in 2011.

Manufacturing was moved to Yorkshire and South Wales in 2017.

The carpet museum in Kidderminster has an extensive archive documenting the town’s industrial and social history.

The museum is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 1.30pm, for more details visit museumofcarpet.org