When you’ve been learning your craft for almost two and a half centuries, you can confidently call yourself ‘the world’s finest’. John Smedley have been making their knitwear in Derbyshire since 1784.

Number 50 on our list of the greatest things we make here is The Knitted Polo Shirt.

On this week’s The Factory Next Door we head to Matlock to visit John Smedley’s historic Lea Mills.

Managing Director Jess McGuire Dudley gives us a tour as she reflects on her first year in charge. We hear why there’s a renewed interest in apprenticeships at the factory, consider the therapeutic qualities of linking, discover which job requires the steadiest hand, and chat about collaborating with actor Bill Nighy.

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Releasedatum: 21-4-2026 08:09:08