Lancashire Lantern
Lancashire Lantern: Lancashire Pioneers
Part of the Lancashire Lantern network, the Pioneers gives details of people who were famous local people in science, technology and innovation. These pioneers were either born in Lancashire or their endeavours made a significant contribution to the development of the County.
Richard Arkwright - Cromford
In 1769 Arkwright moved to Nottingham and built a mill there in partnership with Samuel Need and Jedediah Strutt.
Seeking a site for a water powered mill, he moved to Cromford in Derbyshire in 1771.
Here, in the Derwent valley, he built the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill.
The image above shows Willersley Castle on the River Derwent in Derbyshire, Arkwright's house.
He also built houses and a chapel for his workers and their families, creating a factory village, which became a model for others throughout Britain and abroad.
Textile production at Cromford Mill ceased about 1840. The buildings were in use until 1979 when the Arkwright Society bought the mill and began restoration.
Arkwright and his partners also established mills in Bakewell, Gessbrook, Wirksworth, Masson, Keighley, Ashbourne, Bromsgrove and Manchester. In 1778 a mill was built at Birkacre, near Chorley, but it was deliberately set on fire by machine wreckers and never rebuilt.
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