Beside the leisure centre in Bangor is a mulberry tree, an unusual species here where the climate rarely allows it to produce its flavourful deep red berries. This tree was primarily grown for its leaves, which are the food plant for silk-worms.
The story is that the Lady of the Manor, the Hamilton family in Bangor Castle, kept silkworms: these are caterpillars, which when they pupate spin themselves cocoons of pure silk which can then be unravelled and the thread spun into cloth. There is no record if she succeeded in this but it is quite possible – silk manufacture was carried out on a commercial scale in England for many years.