John Lombe
Encyclopedia
John Lombe was a silk
spinner
in the 18th century Derby
, England
.
in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted
weaver. He was a younger half-brother of Thomas Lombe, who after his death, would go on to amass a fortune as a silk merchant in Norwich and London
.
In the early 18th century, the centre for producing silk stockings by framework knitting
had moved to the Midlands
from London and the demand for spun silk was outstripping demand.
Thomas Lombe's brother John had obtained employment at an abortive silk mill built in Derby
by the well-known inventor and engineer George Sorocold
for the silk "spinner" Thomas Cotchett of Derby. The mill was built on the River Derwent in the city of Derby. It may have been the first instance of workers being gathered under one roof to work machinery driven by an inanimate power source.
The Italians
had been using power spinning since the early 17th century, with a description published by Vittorio Zonca
. Leonardo Da Vinci
had sketched a similar model, but Zonca's was more complete; it is unknown if there was contact. John was sent by his brother to investigate the Italian machines spinning fine organzine thread. Organzine are raw silk warp threads and are essential for weaving fine silk cloth. As the story goes, he obtained employment at one of the Italian shops where the secret silk-throwing machinery was used. He stole into the shops at night and carefully diagrammed them by candlelight. He then brought the designs back to England in 1716.
"three sorts of engines never before made or used within this our Kingdom of Great Britain, one to wind finest raw silk, another to spin and the other to twist the finest Italian raw silk into organzine in great perfection which was never before done in this our Kingdom, by which means many thousand families of our subjects may be constantly employed in Great Britain, be furnished with silks of all sorts of the manufacture of our subjects, and great quantities exported into foreign parts by being made as good and cheap as any foreign silk can be."
The patent was granted for fourteen years.
He engaged Sorocold to build a new larger mill on the site of the old one in Derby. Lombe's Mill
was completed in 1722, the year of John's death. John died suddenly. According to legend, the King of Sardinia, having heard of the success of the Lombe’s undertaking, instructed a female assassin to travel to England to kill the brothers. He is suspected to have been poisoned by a "suspicious" woman, presumably from Italy, who had appeared shortly before his death.
Thomas Lombe was knighted in 1727. In 1732 the patent expired and his request for an extension was turned down. It was arguably the first successful powered continuous production unit in the world; a prototype for Richard Arkwright
's later cotton mill
at Cromford
and the Derwent Valley Mills
which marked the beginning of the factory system
.
In recognition of his achievement he was given a grant of £14,000 to prepare a model of his machine which was displayed in the Tower of London
for the benefit of other aspiring manufacturers. He died in 1739 and the building was sold to Samuel Lloyd and William Wilson. It continued to spin silk until 1890 when it partly collapsed.
.
A Bas relief sculpture may be found of John Lombe at the nearby Exeter Bridge
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...
spinner
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...
in the 18th century 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Biography
Lombe was born in NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted
Worsted
Worsted , is the name of a yarn, the cloth made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from the village of Worstead in the English county of Norfolk...
weaver. He was a younger half-brother of Thomas Lombe, who after his death, would go on to amass a fortune as a silk merchant in Norwich and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In the early 18th century, the centre for producing silk stockings by framework knitting
Stocking frame
A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee of Calverton near Nottingham in 1589...
had moved to the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
from London and the demand for spun silk was outstripping demand.
Thomas Lombe's brother John had obtained employment at an abortive silk mill built 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...
by the well-known inventor and 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...
for the silk "spinner" Thomas Cotchett of Derby. The mill was built on the River Derwent in the city of Derby. It may have been the first instance of workers being gathered under one roof to work machinery driven by an inanimate power source.
The Italians
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
had been using power spinning since the early 17th century, with a description published by Vittorio Zonca
Vittorio Zonca
Vittorio Zonca was an Italian engineer and writer. He wrote the Theater of machines, which was published in Padua in 1607, four years after his death....
. Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
had sketched a similar model, but Zonca's was more complete; it is unknown if there was contact. John was sent by his brother to investigate the Italian machines spinning fine organzine thread. Organzine are raw silk warp threads and are essential for weaving fine silk cloth. As the story goes, he obtained employment at one of the Italian shops where the secret silk-throwing machinery was used. He stole into the shops at night and carefully diagrammed them by candlelight. He then brought the designs back to England in 1716.
Silk Spinning Patent
In 1718, Thomas Lombe was able to obtain a patent, which stated that it was for:"three sorts of engines never before made or used within this our Kingdom of Great Britain, one to wind finest raw silk, another to spin and the other to twist the finest Italian raw silk into organzine in great perfection which was never before done in this our Kingdom, by which means many thousand families of our subjects may be constantly employed in Great Britain, be furnished with silks of all sorts of the manufacture of our subjects, and great quantities exported into foreign parts by being made as good and cheap as any foreign silk can be."
The patent was granted for fourteen years.
Lombe's Mill
Lombe's Mill
Lombe's Mill England was the first successful silk throwing mill in England. It was built in an island on the River Derwent in Derby. It was built after John Lombe visited Piedmont in 1717, and returned to England with details of the Italian silk throwing machines- the filatoio, and the torcitoio.,...
was completed in 1722, the year of John's death. John died suddenly. According to legend, the King of Sardinia, having heard of the success of the Lombe’s undertaking, instructed a female assassin to travel to England to kill the brothers. He is suspected to have been poisoned by a "suspicious" woman, presumably from Italy, who had appeared shortly before his death.
Thomas Lombe was knighted in 1727. In 1732 the patent expired and his request for an extension was turned down. It was arguably the first successful powered continuous production unit in the world; a prototype for 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 later cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
at 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...
and the Derwent Valley Mills
Derwent Valley Mills
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...
which marked the beginning of the factory 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,...
.
In recognition of his achievement he was given a grant of £14,000 to prepare a model of his machine which was displayed in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
for the benefit of other aspiring manufacturers. He died in 1739 and the building was sold to Samuel Lloyd and William Wilson. It continued to spin silk until 1890 when it partly collapsed.
The Silk Mill today
The mill then passed through several hands and has been rebuilt several times, but the modified structure still exists and has been restored to house the Derby Industrial MuseumDerby Industrial Museum
Derby 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...
.
A Bas relief sculpture may be found of John Lombe at the nearby Exeter Bridge
Exeter Bridge - Derby
Exeter Bridge is a Traffic Single Span Concrete Arch Bridge in the centre of Derby spanning the River Derwent 200 metres south of the more modern Cathedral Green Footbridge.-History:...