Derwent Valley Mills
Encyclopedia
Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site
along the River Derwent
in Derbyshire
, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory
, or 'mill', system
was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton
developed by Richard Arkwright
. With advancements in technology, it became possible to produce cotton continuously. The system was adopted throughout the valley, and later spread so that by 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. Arkwright's inventions and system of organising labour was exported to Europe and the United States.
Water-power was first introduced to England by John Lombe
at his silk mill in Derby
in 1719, but it was Richard Arkwright who applied water-power to the process of producing cotton in the 1770s. His patent of a water frame
allowed cotton to be spun
continuously and meant it could be produced by unskilled workers. Cromford Mill
and Cromford
was the site of Arkwright's first mill, and his system of production and worker's housing was copied throughout the valley. To ensure the presence of a labour force, it was necessary to construct housing for the mill workers. Thus, new settlements were established by mill owners around the mills – sometimes developing a pre-existing community – with their own amenities such as schools, chapels, and markets. Most of the housing still exists and is still in use. Along with the transport infrastructure form part of the site. A transport infrastructure was built to open new markets for the mills' produce.
Mills and worker's settlements were established at Belper
, Darley Abbey
, and Milford
by Arkwright's competitors. Arkwright-type mills were so successful that sometimes they were copied without paying royalties to Richard Arkwright. The cotton industry in the Derwent Valley went into decline in the first quarter of the 19th century as the market shifted towards Lancashire
which was better position in relation to markets and raw materials. The mills and their associated buildings are well preserved and have been reused since the cotton industry declined. Many of the buildings within the World Heritage Site are also listed buildings and Scheduled Monuments. Some of the mills now contain museums and are open to the public.
covers an area of 12.3 km² (4.7 sq mi) and spans a 24 km (14.9 mi) stretch of the Derwent Valley, in Derbyshire, from Matlock Bath
in the north to Derby city centre
in the south. Within the site are mill complexes, settlements including workers' housing, weir
s on the River Derwent, and the transport network that supported the mills in the valley. The site consists of the communities of Cromford
, Belper
, Milford
, and Darley Abbey
, and includes 838 listed buildings, made up of 16 Grade I, 42 Grade II*, and 780 Grade II. A further nine structures are Scheduled Ancient Monument
s. The buildings are a mixture of mills, workers' housing, and structures associated with the mill communities. The Cromford Canal
and Cromford and High Peak Railway
, which aided the industrialisation of the area, are also part of the World Heritage Site.
In the late 17th century silk
making expanded due to demand for silk as part of fashionable garments. In an attempt to increase production through the use of water power, Thomas Cotchett commissioned engineer George Sorocold
to build a mill near the centre of Derby on an island in the River Derwent. Although the experiment was unsuccessful, it convinced John Lombe
– an employee of Cotchett – that if water power could be perfected there was a market for its produce. He engaged in industrial espionage and gained plans of Italian machines. He patent
ed the design in 1719 and built a five-storey mill 33.5 by 12 m (109.9 by 39.4 ft) next to Crotchett's mill. By 1763, 30 years after Lombe's patent had expired, only seven Lombe mills had been built because the silk market was small, but Lombe had introduced a viable form of water powered machinery and had established a template for organised labour that later industrialists would follow.
As silk was a luxury good, the market was small and easily saturated by machine produced goods. The next innovation in machine produced textiles came in the cotton industry which had a much wider market and produced more affordable goods. Spinning cotton was a more complex process than silk production. The water frame
for spinning cotton was developed by Richard Arkwright
and patented in 1769. The machines could spin yarn
continuously and replaced skilled workers with unskilled supervisors to make sure the machines didn't break. Water frames varied in size from 4 to 96 spindles
. For these reasons, the water frame became popular and widespread. In 1771, Richard Arkwright took a lease on land in Cromford. By 1774, his first mill was operational, and in 1776 he began construction of a second mill at Cromford. During this time, he developed machines for pre-spinning and in 1775 took out his second patent. With spinning
mechanised, the other processes involved in producing cotton could not keep up and also required mechanisation. He produced a machine for carding
, the process which laid out the cotton fibres parallel, however not all his inventions were successful and cleaning the cotton was performed by hand until the 1790s when an effective machine was invented.
Arkwright sought financial assistance, and Peter Nightingale – a local landowner – bought the Cromford Estate for £20,000 (£ as of ). Nightingale also built Rock House as a residence for Arkwright, overlooking the mill, and gave him a further £2,000 (£) to build the second mill and £1,750 (£) for workers' housing. Between 1777 and 1783, Arkwright and his family built mills at Bakewell
, Cressbrook
, Rocester
, and Wirksworth
, spread across Derbyshire and Staffordshire
. Jedediah Strutt
, who was Arkwright's partner in the first Cromford Mill, built mills at Belper and Milford in 1776–1881. Thomas Evans, a land over in Darley Abbey
, bought a further 7.1 ha (17.5 acre) in the area around Darley Abbey at a cost of £1,140 (£) and in 1782 built a cotton mill in the village. Arkwright was paid royalties by those who had copied his machines, although some people risked prosecution by engaging in piracy
.
The construction of Masson Mill in Matlock Bath began in 1783, instigated by Arkwright. Contemporaneous with Arkwright's expansionism was the entry of Jedediah Strutt into the cotton spinning industry. Strutt had the advantage that Arkwright had already done all the necessary experimentation with machinery, so he did not have to invest in researching new technology. He established a mill at Belper, about 8 mi (12.9 km) south of Cromford; it was probably complete in 1781. The site was expanded with the addition of a second mill in 1784. Strutt also built a mill in Milford, about 2 mi (3 km) south of Belper. By 1793, two further mills were added for printing and bleaching. The Strutts estimated that by 1789 they had invested £37,000 (£) in theirs mills at Belper and Milford (£26,000 at Belper and £11,000 at Milford), and had a return of £36,000 (£) per year.
Arkwright had a reputation as a paternalistic
employer who was concerned for the well-being of his employees and their families. A Sunday School
was built at Cromford in 1785 and provided education to 200 children. By 1789, the Cromford Estate was back in the ownership of the Arkwrights, who actively influenced its structure and construction. Cromford was given a market place to act as a new focus for the village. Arkwright organised a market every Sunday and as incentive to attend, gave annual prizes to those who attended most often. After Arkwright died in 1792 his son, Richard Arkwright junior
, took over and sold most of his cotton mills outside Cromford and Matlock Bath. The mills in Cromford and Matlock Bath were probably retained to support the Willersley Estate
. Societies and clubs were created in Cromford. The religious affairs of the community were of less interest to Arkwright, and it was not until 1797 that Arkwright junior established Cromford Church; his father had envisaged it as a private chapel
for the Arkwright family at Willersley Castle
. The family's attempts to make Cromford self sustaining through establishing a market was successful, and the village expanded until about 1840. This was even though the mills had passed their zenith and begun to enter decline in this period.
Richard Arkwright junior was uninterested in the cotton business, and after the death of his father the Arkwright family ceased to invest in the industry. The Strutt family continued to invest, fuelled by the profits of their mills in Milford and Belper. They continued building mills into the 1810s, and by 1833 their business employed 2,000 people and had dominated the cotton industry in the Derwent Valley. As Arkwright had done at Cromford, the Strutts provided housing for their employees. Belper was already an established village with its own market before Jedediah Strutt began building mills, so he was not required to have as active a role in developing the community into a self-sustaining entity as Richard Arkwright did at Cromford. The Strutts provided education, and in 1817 650 and 300 children attended Sunday Schools in Belper and Milford respectively. Compared with Cromford, whose population had plateaued at around 1,200 in the early 19th century, the population of Belper rose from 4,500 in 1801 to 7,890 in 1831 due to the prosperity of the business. Darley Abbey also expanded as a worker's settlement although it had no market place, so providing food for the inhabitants was problematic. The settlement doubled in size between 1788 and 1801, and between 1801 and 1831 the population increased from 615 to 1,170 with the addition of much worker's housing. A Sunday School for 80 children was established in one of the mills and a church and school were built in 1819 and 1826 respectively.
Despite being a major power of the cotton industry in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Strutt's company began to lose out to competition from Lancashire mill town
s. The problem of shifting markets affected the entire Derwent Valley; Lancashire was better situated than the Derbyshire in relation to the raw materials and new markets. The mills run by the Strutt family also suffered from a lack of modernisation; although they were at the forefront of fireproofing technology at the start of the 19th century, as the machines the mills used got bigger and more powerful, the Strutts persevered with child labour where adults would have been more adept at using the machinery. The company declined and in the second half of the 19th century some of its mills were leased or sold off to other companies. Although the cotton industry in the Derwent Valley declined, many of the structures associated with the industrial processes associated with producing cotton and worker's housing has survived and there are 838 listed buildings in the conservation area.
The Erewash Canal
, begun in 1777, was intended to primarily transport coal. It flowed from the River Trent
in Sawley
to Langley Mill
, 14 mi (22.5 km) south of Cromford. In 1788, Richard Arkwright asked William Jessop
to estimate the cost of building a canal connecting the mills at Cromford to Langley Mill. The figure Jessop came up with was £42,000 (£ as of ) which was raised within a couple of weeks. Local mill owners Jedediah Strutt and Thomas Evans opposed the proposed canal, fearing it would interfere with the water supply for their own mills, but in 1789 Parliament granted permission to construct the canal.
When the Cromford Canal was opened in 1794, it had cost nearly twice Jessop's original estimate. Between Langley Mill and Cromford Wharf, where the canal terminated in the mill complex, the canal crossed two aqueducts, traversed 3000 yd (2,743.2 m) of tunnel beneath some ironworks at Bull Bridge, and fourteen locks
. Three quarters of the cargo transported on the canal was coal and coke, while the rest consisted of gritstone, iron ore, and lead. When the Derby
and Nottingham Canal
s were completed by Jessop and Benjamin Outram
in 1796, they provided direct routes to the important textile centres of Derby and Nottingham
. In January 1845, the Cromford Canal Company decided to have a permanent pump built to provide enough water during dry conditions. This was made by Graham and Company at the Milton Iron Works, Elsecar. The canal was successful until the mid 19th century when the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway
extended its line south of the canal. In 1852, the canal was sold to the railway company which accelerated its decline. By 1889 the canal was mostly used for local traffic. It was eventually closed in 1944 as the cost of maintaining and repairing the canal were too great. Derbyshire County Council acquired the canal in 1974 and the Cromford Canal Society undertook the task of restoring it.
In the early 19th century, a canal had been proposed to connect the Peak Forest Canal
, which terminated at Whaley Bridge
, with the Cromford Canal, providing a direct route between markets in Lancashire and Derbyshire. However, costs were prohibative and the plan was abandoned. Josias Jessop
, the son of William Jessop, believed that a wagonway
would be much cheaper than a canal. On 2 May 1825 an Act of Parliament
for the construction of a railway from Cromford to Whaley Bridge was passed. The proposal – backed by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
, Richard Arkwright junior, and several Manchester bankers – was ambitious; it was expected that steam locomotives would be used on the line, even though the technology was in its infancy and George Stephenson
did not build his revolutionary Rocket
until 1829. The south part of the railway, from Cromford Wharf to Hurdlow
, south east of Buxton
, opened on 29 May 1830, and on 6 July 1831 the rest of the line opened to Whaley Bridge. The first steam locomotive on the line was introduced in 1841; before that, the traffic had been made up entirely of wagons.
The railway ascended from 277 ft (84.4 m) above sea level at Cromford Wharf to a height of 1264 ft (385.3 m) above sea level at Ladmanlow, before descending to 747 ft (227.7 m) at the wharves of the Peak Forest Canal. The changes in height, which would have necessitated many locks for a canal, was relatively easy for a railway. However, for a time the Comford and High Peak Railway did have the sharpest curve out of all railways in Britain and the steepest incline for vehicles without steam power. The construction of the railway cost was £180,000, higher than the original estimate of £155,000 (£ and £ respectively as of ) but much lower than the £500,000 the canal was predicted to cost (£ as of ). Having been built to connect the Peak Forest and Cromford Canals, the railways fortunes were closely tied with those of the canals. The line was not profitable as by the time it had opened traffic had declined along the Cromford Canal. In 1855, an Act of Parliament allowed the line to transport passengers as well as freight. Although passenger travel became more important to the railway, it went into decline and closed on 21 April 1967.
The Derwent Valley is considered the birthplace of the factory system
. The machines developed in the Derwent Valley such as the water frame allowed continuous production. Richard Arkwright
's Cromford Mill
and the associated workers' settlement provided a template for industrial communities, not just in the valley but internationally. The reason a settlement was built contemporaneously with Cromford Mill was to provide housing for the workers; the only way to secure the labour the mill required was if homes were provided for the labourers and their families. The success of Arkwright's model lead to other industrialists copying him. Entrepreneurs such as Peter Nightingale, Jedediah Strutt and Thomas Evans
founded the settlements of Belper
, Milford
, and Darley Abbey
within the Derwent Valley for their employees. As well as the economic standpoint of ensuring a supply of labour, the industrialists were also concerned for their employees and families and acted out of a sense of paternalism
.
Arkwright's innovations were not confined to developing workers' settlements; he also had patents on many technologies used for water-powered spinning. They were so successful that rival industrialists risked legal action by copying his designs. His patents expired in 1785, and by 1788 over 200 Arkwright type mills had been founded in Britain. New Lanark
in Scotland – also a World Heritage Site – was directly influenced by Richard Arkwright and the developments in the Derwent Valley; Lanark was identified as a potential site for a mill on a visit by David Dale
and Arkwright in 1784. Dale later established four mills at Lanark; they were struturally similar to Arkwright's Masson Mill and at least two of the mills used technology developed in the Derwent Valley, although the factory system was different to that used in the Derwent Valley. New Lanark was acquired by Robert Owen
in 1799 who developed paternailism further than had been done in the Derwent Valley, experimenting with education for young and old and social control. Saltaire
– another World Heritage Site – was founded in 1853 and featured worker's housing and facilities, as well as other elements of the factory system developed by Arkwright.
In 1774, the British government passed an acted outlawing the export of "tools or utensils" used in the cotton and linen industries. As a result, the only way for the new technologies being developed in Britain to spread to other countries was through industrial espionage
. Carl Delius worked in England and gave plans for many of Arkwright's inventions to Johann Gottfried Brugelmann; Brugelmann used the information to establish a mill in Ratingen
, near Düsseldorf
, which began production in 1784. He named the settlement associated with the mill Cromford. The mill was the first Arkwright mill in mainland Europe. The techniques for spinning cotton developed in the Derwent Valley were also spread to America. In 1790, the United States had less than 2,000 spindles which were powered by spinning jenny
s, compared to 2.4 million machine driven spindles in Britain at the same time. The Arkwright mill was introduced to America by unskilled migrants from England, many of them being unskilled. Among them was Samuel Slater
who was from the Derwent Valley and an apprentice of Jedediah Strutt. He founded Slater Mill. Many of the technologies developed in the Derwent Valley Mills endured and were adopted for other textile industries; until the mid-20th century, carding was still performed with machinery invented by Richard Arkwright. The factory system made it possible to produce cheap textiles and clothing.
Out of the Arkwright Festival held in 1971, The Arkwright Society was formed. The Cromford Mill complex was bought by The Arkwright Society in 1979, saving the buildings associated with the mill from demolition. The charirty purchased the site for the purpose of conservation and with the intention of beginning restoration. The mills had been contaminated by industrial processes involving pigments and dyes which were stored in the mills after they stopped processing cotton. With the help of local councils, the East Midlands Development Agency
, English Heritage
, the Heritage Lottery Fund
, and at the cost of £5 million, the mills were restored and decontaminated. Now Cromford Mill is now used by small businesses and used for education.
Many of the mills built in the Derwent Valley for the cotton industry survive and were reused after the decline of the industry. Some have been reused. Most of the worker's housing survives and are still in used as homes. Throughout the 1970s and 1908s, local authorities in partnership with English Heritage attempted to prevent the deterioration of the houses and mills by giving advice to owners and using grants to undertake conservation work. When the application for World Heritage Site status was made in 2000, 26 of the 838 listed buildings in the area were on English Heritage's At Risk Register and were in a state of disrepair.
In 2000, the Derwent Valley Mills were nominated to become a World Heritage Site
. Along with Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, New Lanark, and Saltaire (all now World Heritage Sites), the site was proposed to increase the representation of industrial archaeology
on the list of World Heritage Sites. The proposal was successful and in 2001 the Derwent Valley Mills were designated a World Heritage Site. Its status as a World Heritage Site is intended to ensure its protection; all such sites are considered to be of "outstanding value to humanity". The site was listed under the second and fourth Heritage Site selection criteria. The Derwent Valley Mills pioneered worker's housing as well as much technology developed by Richard Arkwright, producing an industrial landscape and heralding industrial towns. The Derwent Valley Mills Partnership is responsible, on behalf of the British government, for the management of the site. In June 2009, Bath Street Mill
in Derby was damaged by fire. The building was part of the World Heritage Site and dated from the 18th century.
Leawood pumphouse
http://www.belpernorthmill.org.uk
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
along the River Derwent
River Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
, or 'mill', system
Factory system
The factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread abroad. Fundamentally, each worker created a separate part of the total assembly of a product, thus increasing the efficiency of factories. Workers,...
was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
developed by Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
. With advancements in technology, it became possible to produce cotton continuously. The system was adopted throughout the valley, and later spread so that by 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. Arkwright's inventions and system of organising labour was exported to Europe and the United States.
Water-power was first introduced to England by John Lombe
John Lombe
John Lombe was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.-Biography:Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver...
at his silk mill in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
in 1719, but it was Richard Arkwright who applied water-power to the process of producing cotton in the 1770s. His patent of a water frame
Water frame
The water frame is the name given to the spinning frame, when water power is used to drive it. Both are credited to Richard Arkwright who patented the technology in 1768. It was based on an invention by Thomas Highs and the patent was later overturned...
allowed cotton to be spun
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
continuously and meant it could be produced by unskilled workers. Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England, which laid the foundation of his fortune and was quickly copied by mills in Lancashire, Germany and the United States...
and Cromford
Cromford
Cromford is a village, two miles to the south of Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright, and the Cromford Mill which he built here in 1771...
was the site of Arkwright's first mill, and his system of production and worker's housing was copied throughout the valley. To ensure the presence of a labour force, it was necessary to construct housing for the mill workers. Thus, new settlements were established by mill owners around the mills – sometimes developing a pre-existing community – with their own amenities such as schools, chapels, and markets. Most of the housing still exists and is still in use. Along with the transport infrastructure form part of the site. A transport infrastructure was built to open new markets for the mills' produce.
Mills and worker's settlements were established at Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey is a village on the outskirts of Derby, England. The village is located on the River Derwent and is associated with the world heritage site of Derwent Valley Mills.- History :...
, and Milford
Milford, Derbyshire
Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...
by Arkwright's competitors. Arkwright-type mills were so successful that sometimes they were copied without paying royalties to Richard Arkwright. The cotton industry in the Derwent Valley went into decline in the first quarter of the 19th century as the market shifted towards Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
which was better position in relation to markets and raw materials. The mills and their associated buildings are well preserved and have been reused since the cotton industry declined. Many of the buildings within the World Heritage Site are also listed buildings and Scheduled Monuments. Some of the mills now contain museums and are open to the public.
Location and coverage
The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
covers an area of 12.3 km² (4.7 sq mi) and spans a 24 km (14.9 mi) stretch of the Derwent Valley, in Derbyshire, from Matlock Bath
Matlock Bath
Matlock Bath is a village south of Matlock in Derbyshire, England. Built along the River Derwent, it developed, in the 19th century, as a spa town and still thrives on tourism.-History:In 1698 warm springs were discovered and a Bath House was built...
in the north to Derby city centre
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
in the south. Within the site are mill complexes, settlements including workers' housing, weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
s on the River Derwent, and the transport network that supported the mills in the valley. The site consists of the communities of Cromford
Cromford
Cromford is a village, two miles to the south of Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright, and the Cromford Mill which he built here in 1771...
, Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Milford
Milford, Derbyshire
Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...
, and Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey is a village on the outskirts of Derby, England. The village is located on the River Derwent and is associated with the world heritage site of Derwent Valley Mills.- History :...
, and includes 838 listed buildings, made up of 16 Grade I, 42 Grade II*, and 780 Grade II. A further nine structures are Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
s. The buildings are a mixture of mills, workers' housing, and structures associated with the mill communities. The Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
and Cromford and High Peak Railway
Cromford and High Peak Railway
The Cromford and High Peak Railway in Derbyshire, England, was completed in 1831, to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge -Origins:...
, which aided the industrialisation of the area, are also part of the World Heritage Site.
History
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
making expanded due to demand for silk as part of fashionable garments. In an attempt to increase production through the use of water power, Thomas Cotchett commissioned engineer George Sorocold
George Sorocold
George Sorocold was an engineer in Derby, England in the eighteenth century.- Biography :He was born in Derby some time around 1668, the son of James Sorocold who had moved to the town from Lancashire...
to build a mill near the centre of Derby on an island in the River Derwent. Although the experiment was unsuccessful, it convinced John Lombe
John Lombe
John Lombe was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.-Biography:Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver...
– an employee of Cotchett – that if water power could be perfected there was a market for its produce. He engaged in industrial espionage and gained plans of Italian machines. He patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed the design in 1719 and built a five-storey mill 33.5 by 12 m (109.9 by 39.4 ft) next to Crotchett's mill. By 1763, 30 years after Lombe's patent had expired, only seven Lombe mills had been built because the silk market was small, but Lombe had introduced a viable form of water powered machinery and had established a template for organised labour that later industrialists would follow.
Water frame
The water frame is the name given to the spinning frame, when water power is used to drive it. Both are credited to Richard Arkwright who patented the technology in 1768. It was based on an invention by Thomas Highs and the patent was later overturned...
for spinning cotton was developed by Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
and patented in 1769. The machines could spin yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
continuously and replaced skilled workers with unskilled supervisors to make sure the machines didn't break. Water frames varied in size from 4 to 96 spindles
Spindle (textiles)
A spindle is a wooden spike used for spinning wool, flax, hemp, cotton, and other fibres into thread. It is commonly weighted at either the bottom middle or top, most commonly by a circular or spherical object called a whorl, and may also have a hook, groove or notch, though spindles without...
. For these reasons, the water frame became popular and widespread. In 1771, Richard Arkwright took a lease on land in Cromford. By 1774, his first mill was operational, and in 1776 he began construction of a second mill at Cromford. During this time, he developed machines for pre-spinning and in 1775 took out his second patent. With spinning
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
mechanised, the other processes involved in producing cotton could not keep up and also required mechanisation. He produced a machine for carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
, the process which laid out the cotton fibres parallel, however not all his inventions were successful and cleaning the cotton was performed by hand until the 1790s when an effective machine was invented.
Arkwright sought financial assistance, and Peter Nightingale – a local landowner – bought the Cromford Estate for £20,000 (£ as of ). Nightingale also built Rock House as a residence for Arkwright, overlooking the mill, and gave him a further £2,000 (£) to build the second mill and £1,750 (£) for workers' housing. Between 1777 and 1783, Arkwright and his family built mills at Bakewell
Bakewell
Bakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Beadeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park, and is well known for the local confection Bakewell Pudding...
, Cressbrook
Cressbrook
Cressbrook is a village in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. Before its Enclosure Act of 1762 Cressbrook did not exist. It later grew up around a textile mill complex built alongside the River Wye, first by Richard Arkwright and then later by his son Richard, JL Philips and Brother...
, Rocester
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt Rowcestre in the Domesday Book.-Geography:...
, and Wirksworth
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of over 9,000.The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford, Bolehill and Middleton-by-Wirksworth is about 12,000. Wirksworth is listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. Within it is the source of the River...
, spread across Derbyshire and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings...
, who was Arkwright's partner in the first Cromford Mill, built mills at Belper and Milford in 1776–1881. Thomas Evans, a land over in Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey is a village on the outskirts of Derby, England. The village is located on the River Derwent and is associated with the world heritage site of Derwent Valley Mills.- History :...
, bought a further 7.1 ha (17.5 acre) in the area around Darley Abbey at a cost of £1,140 (£) and in 1782 built a cotton mill in the village. Arkwright was paid royalties by those who had copied his machines, although some people risked prosecution by engaging in piracy
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
.
The construction of Masson Mill in Matlock Bath began in 1783, instigated by Arkwright. Contemporaneous with Arkwright's expansionism was the entry of Jedediah Strutt into the cotton spinning industry. Strutt had the advantage that Arkwright had already done all the necessary experimentation with machinery, so he did not have to invest in researching new technology. He established a mill at Belper, about 8 mi (12.9 km) south of Cromford; it was probably complete in 1781. The site was expanded with the addition of a second mill in 1784. Strutt also built a mill in Milford, about 2 mi (3 km) south of Belper. By 1793, two further mills were added for printing and bleaching. The Strutts estimated that by 1789 they had invested £37,000 (£) in theirs mills at Belper and Milford (£26,000 at Belper and £11,000 at Milford), and had a return of £36,000 (£) per year.
Paternalism
Paternalism refers to attitudes or states of affairs that exemplify a traditional relationship between father and child. Two conditions of paternalism are usually identified: interference with liberty and a beneficent intention towards those whose liberty is interfered with...
employer who was concerned for the well-being of his employees and their families. A Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
was built at Cromford in 1785 and provided education to 200 children. By 1789, the Cromford Estate was back in the ownership of the Arkwrights, who actively influenced its structure and construction. Cromford was given a market place to act as a new focus for the village. Arkwright organised a market every Sunday and as incentive to attend, gave annual prizes to those who attended most often. After Arkwright died in 1792 his son, Richard Arkwright junior
Richard Arkwright Junior
Richard Arkwright junior , the son of the famous Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was the financier of Samuel Oldknow of Marple and Mellor and a personal friend. His son Captain Arkwright married Francis Kemble, daughter of the famous theatre manager Stephen Kemble.-Biography:Richard...
, took over and sold most of his cotton mills outside Cromford and Matlock Bath. The mills in Cromford and Matlock Bath were probably retained to support the Willersley Estate
Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle is a late 18th century country mansion situated above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire which is now a Grade II* listed building....
. Societies and clubs were created in Cromford. The religious affairs of the community were of less interest to Arkwright, and it was not until 1797 that Arkwright junior established Cromford Church; his father had envisaged it as a private chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
for the Arkwright family at Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle
Willersley Castle is a late 18th century country mansion situated above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire which is now a Grade II* listed building....
. The family's attempts to make Cromford self sustaining through establishing a market was successful, and the village expanded until about 1840. This was even though the mills had passed their zenith and begun to enter decline in this period.
Despite being a major power of the cotton industry in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Strutt's company began to lose out to competition from Lancashire mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
s. The problem of shifting markets affected the entire Derwent Valley; Lancashire was better situated than the Derbyshire in relation to the raw materials and new markets. The mills run by the Strutt family also suffered from a lack of modernisation; although they were at the forefront of fireproofing technology at the start of the 19th century, as the machines the mills used got bigger and more powerful, the Strutts persevered with child labour where adults would have been more adept at using the machinery. The company declined and in the second half of the 19th century some of its mills were leased or sold off to other companies. Although the cotton industry in the Derwent Valley declined, many of the structures associated with the industrial processes associated with producing cotton and worker's housing has survived and there are 838 listed buildings in the conservation area.
Cromford canal
Erewash Canal
The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...
, begun in 1777, was intended to primarily transport coal. It flowed from the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
in Sawley
Sawley, Derbyshire
Sawley is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Erewash, in southeast Derbyshire, England. Around 6,500 people live in the parish. with a slightly higher than average number of people over 65....
to Langley Mill
Langley Mill
Langley Mill is a small town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is on the border of Nottinghamshire, and runs into the towns of Aldercar and Heanor . Across the River Erewash is the Nottinghamshire town of Eastwood. It is part of the Aldercar and Langley Mill parish....
, 14 mi (22.5 km) south of Cromford. In 1788, Richard Arkwright asked William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
to estimate the cost of building a canal connecting the mills at Cromford to Langley Mill. The figure Jessop came up with was £42,000 (£ as of ) which was raised within a couple of weeks. Local mill owners Jedediah Strutt and Thomas Evans opposed the proposed canal, fearing it would interfere with the water supply for their own mills, but in 1789 Parliament granted permission to construct the canal.
When the Cromford Canal was opened in 1794, it had cost nearly twice Jessop's original estimate. Between Langley Mill and Cromford Wharf, where the canal terminated in the mill complex, the canal crossed two aqueducts, traversed 3000 yd (2,743.2 m) of tunnel beneath some ironworks at Bull Bridge, and fourteen locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
. Three quarters of the cargo transported on the canal was coal and coke, while the rest consisted of gritstone, iron ore, and lead. When the Derby
Derby Canal
The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
and Nottingham Canal
Nottingham Canal
The Nottingham Canal was a long canal between Langley Mill in Derbyshire and Nottingham, England. It opened in 1796, and most of it was closed in 1937. The southern section is now part of the River Trent Navigation, and the northern section is a nature reserve.-Origins:The idea for the canal first...
s were completed by Jessop and Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
in 1796, they provided direct routes to the important textile centres of Derby and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. In January 1845, the Cromford Canal Company decided to have a permanent pump built to provide enough water during dry conditions. This was made by Graham and Company at the Milton Iron Works, Elsecar. The canal was successful until the mid 19th century when the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway
Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway
The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton....
extended its line south of the canal. In 1852, the canal was sold to the railway company which accelerated its decline. By 1889 the canal was mostly used for local traffic. It was eventually closed in 1944 as the cost of maintaining and repairing the canal were too great. Derbyshire County Council acquired the canal in 1974 and the Cromford Canal Society undertook the task of restoring it.
Cromford and High Peak Railway
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
, which terminated at Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...
, with the Cromford Canal, providing a direct route between markets in Lancashire and Derbyshire. However, costs were prohibative and the plan was abandoned. Josias Jessop
Josias Jessop
Josias Jessop was a noted canal engineer, and second son of William Jessop.In 1802 he and his father were appointed engineers of the proposed Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway....
, the son of William Jessop, believed that a wagonway
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
would be much cheaper than a canal. On 2 May 1825 an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
for the construction of a railway from Cromford to Whaley Bridge was passed. The proposal – backed by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire
William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC , styled Marquess of Hartington until 1811, was a British peer, courtier and Whig politician...
, Richard Arkwright junior, and several Manchester bankers – was ambitious; it was expected that steam locomotives would be used on the line, even though the technology was in its infancy and George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
did not build his revolutionary Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...
until 1829. The south part of the railway, from Cromford Wharf to Hurdlow
Hurdlow railway station
Hurdlow railway station was near to the hamlet of Hurdlow to the south east of Buxton, Derbyshire on the LNWR line to Ashbourne and the south.-History:...
, south east of Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, opened on 29 May 1830, and on 6 July 1831 the rest of the line opened to Whaley Bridge. The first steam locomotive on the line was introduced in 1841; before that, the traffic had been made up entirely of wagons.
The railway ascended from 277 ft (84.4 m) above sea level at Cromford Wharf to a height of 1264 ft (385.3 m) above sea level at Ladmanlow, before descending to 747 ft (227.7 m) at the wharves of the Peak Forest Canal. The changes in height, which would have necessitated many locks for a canal, was relatively easy for a railway. However, for a time the Comford and High Peak Railway did have the sharpest curve out of all railways in Britain and the steepest incline for vehicles without steam power. The construction of the railway cost was £180,000, higher than the original estimate of £155,000 (£ and £ respectively as of ) but much lower than the £500,000 the canal was predicted to cost (£ as of ). Having been built to connect the Peak Forest and Cromford Canals, the railways fortunes were closely tied with those of the canals. The line was not profitable as by the time it had opened traffic had declined along the Cromford Canal. In 1855, an Act of Parliament allowed the line to transport passengers as well as freight. Although passenger travel became more important to the railway, it went into decline and closed on 21 April 1967.
Legacy
Factory system
The factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread abroad. Fundamentally, each worker created a separate part of the total assembly of a product, thus increasing the efficiency of factories. Workers,...
. The machines developed in the Derwent Valley such as the water frame allowed continuous production. Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
's Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England, which laid the foundation of his fortune and was quickly copied by mills in Lancashire, Germany and the United States...
and the associated workers' settlement provided a template for industrial communities, not just in the valley but internationally. The reason a settlement was built contemporaneously with Cromford Mill was to provide housing for the workers; the only way to secure the labour the mill required was if homes were provided for the labourers and their families. The success of Arkwright's model lead to other industrialists copying him. Entrepreneurs such as Peter Nightingale, Jedediah Strutt and Thomas Evans
Sir Thomas William Evans, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas William Evans, 1st Baronet was an English Liberal politician who represented the constituency of South Derbyshire....
founded the settlements of Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Milford
Milford, Derbyshire
Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...
, and Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey
Darley Abbey is a village on the outskirts of Derby, England. The village is located on the River Derwent and is associated with the world heritage site of Derwent Valley Mills.- History :...
within the Derwent Valley for their employees. As well as the economic standpoint of ensuring a supply of labour, the industrialists were also concerned for their employees and families and acted out of a sense of paternalism
Paternalism
Paternalism refers to attitudes or states of affairs that exemplify a traditional relationship between father and child. Two conditions of paternalism are usually identified: interference with liberty and a beneficent intention towards those whose liberty is interfered with...
.
Arkwright's innovations were not confined to developing workers' settlements; he also had patents on many technologies used for water-powered spinning. They were so successful that rival industrialists risked legal action by copying his designs. His patents expired in 1785, and by 1788 over 200 Arkwright type mills had been founded in Britain. New Lanark
New Lanark
New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles from Lanark, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Dale built the mills there to take advantage of the water power provided by the river...
in Scotland – also a World Heritage Site – was directly influenced by Richard Arkwright and the developments in the Derwent Valley; Lanark was identified as a potential site for a mill on a visit by David Dale
David Dale
David Dale was a Scottish merchant and businessman, known for establishing the influential weaving community of New Lanark, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is credited along with his son in law Robert Owen of being a founder of utopian socialism and a founding father of socialism-Early...
and Arkwright in 1784. Dale later established four mills at Lanark; they were struturally similar to Arkwright's Masson Mill and at least two of the mills used technology developed in the Derwent Valley, although the factory system was different to that used in the Derwent Valley. New Lanark was acquired by Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
in 1799 who developed paternailism further than had been done in the Derwent Valley, experimenting with education for young and old and social control. Saltaire
Saltaire
Saltaire is a Victorian model village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
– another World Heritage Site – was founded in 1853 and featured worker's housing and facilities, as well as other elements of the factory system developed by Arkwright.
In 1774, the British government passed an acted outlawing the export of "tools or utensils" used in the cotton and linen industries. As a result, the only way for the new technologies being developed in Britain to spread to other countries was through industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
. Carl Delius worked in England and gave plans for many of Arkwright's inventions to Johann Gottfried Brugelmann; Brugelmann used the information to establish a mill in Ratingen
Ratingen
Ratingen is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the northwestern part of Berg - about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf...
, near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, which began production in 1784. He named the settlement associated with the mill Cromford. The mill was the first Arkwright mill in mainland Europe. The techniques for spinning cotton developed in the Derwent Valley were also spread to America. In 1790, the United States had less than 2,000 spindles which were powered by spinning jenny
Spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spool spinning frame. It was invented c. 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England. The device reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, with a worker able to work eight or more spools at once. This grew to 120 as technology...
s, compared to 2.4 million machine driven spindles in Britain at the same time. The Arkwright mill was introduced to America by unskilled migrants from England, many of them being unskilled. Among them was Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
who was from the Derwent Valley and an apprentice of Jedediah Strutt. He founded Slater Mill. Many of the technologies developed in the Derwent Valley Mills endured and were adopted for other textile industries; until the mid-20th century, carding was still performed with machinery invented by Richard Arkwright. The factory system made it possible to produce cheap textiles and clothing.
Preservation
East Midlands Development Agency
East Midlands Development Agency is the regional development agency for the East Midlands region of England formed in 1999.-Structure and function:...
, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, and at the cost of £5 million, the mills were restored and decontaminated. Now Cromford Mill is now used by small businesses and used for education.
Many of the mills built in the Derwent Valley for the cotton industry survive and were reused after the decline of the industry. Some have been reused. Most of the worker's housing survives and are still in used as homes. Throughout the 1970s and 1908s, local authorities in partnership with English Heritage attempted to prevent the deterioration of the houses and mills by giving advice to owners and using grants to undertake conservation work. When the application for World Heritage Site status was made in 2000, 26 of the 838 listed buildings in the area were on English Heritage's At Risk Register and were in a state of disrepair.
In 2000, the Derwent Valley Mills were nominated to become a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. Along with Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, New Lanark, and Saltaire (all now World Heritage Sites), the site was proposed to increase the representation of industrial archaeology
Industrial archaeology
Industrial archaeology, like other branches of archaeology, is the study of material culture from the past, but with a focus on industry. Strictly speaking, industrial archaeology includes sites from the earliest times to the most recent...
on the list of World Heritage Sites. The proposal was successful and in 2001 the Derwent Valley Mills were designated a World Heritage Site. Its status as a World Heritage Site is intended to ensure its protection; all such sites are considered to be of "outstanding value to humanity". The site was listed under the second and fourth Heritage Site selection criteria. The Derwent Valley Mills pioneered worker's housing as well as much technology developed by Richard Arkwright, producing an industrial landscape and heralding industrial towns. The Derwent Valley Mills Partnership is responsible, on behalf of the British government, for the management of the site. In June 2009, Bath Street Mill
Bath Street Mill
Bath Street Mill is in Derby. It was built in 1851 for George Holme as a Silk throwing Mill. In spite of the recession in the silk industry in 1857, he expanded the mill in 1868...
in Derby was damaged by fire. The building was part of the World Heritage Site and dated from the 18th century.
Museums
- Richard Arkwright's Masson MillMasson MillSir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mill is a water-powered cotton spinning mill situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire in England. This mill was built in 1783 and is sited close to the house Richard Arkwright built for himself within the parish of Matlock...
is now a working textile museum with the largest collection of bobbinBobbinA bobbin is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which wire, yarn, thread or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in sewing machines, cameras, and within electronic equipment....
s in the world. - Leawood Pumphouse is now a working museum which still does the original job of pumping water from the Derwent to Cromford Canal, Open on selected weekends.
- At Belper, while much of the site has been converted to other business uses, the Belper North MillBelper North MillBelper North Mill, also known as Strutt's North Mill, Belper, is one of the Derwent Valley Mills designated UNESCO World Heritage Status in 2001.It is sited in Belper, a town in Derbyshire, England roughly half way between Derby and Matlock....
building houses the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre. This features displays of machinery and other items associated with the history of the Derwent Valley textile industry. - At the extreme southern end of the site, Lombe'sJohn LombeJohn Lombe was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.-Biography:Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver...
Silk Mill now houses the Derby Industrial MuseumDerby Industrial MuseumDerby Silk Mill, formerly known as Derby Industrial Museum, is a museum of industry and history in Derby, England. The museum is housed in Lombe's Mill, a historic former silk mill which marks the southern end of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Between 1717 and 1721 George Sorocold...
. although this museum closed on 3rd April 2011 and is mothballed for approximately two years.
External links
Leawood pumphouse
http://www.belpernorthmill.org.uk