Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England, which placed the foundation of his fortune and was quickly copied by mills in Lancashire, Germany and the United States. It forms the centre piece of the Derwent Valley Mills, now a World Heritage Site.
History
The cotton mill's operation finally came to an end in the nineteenth century and the buildings were used for other purposes. The importance of this site is not that it was the first but that it was the first successful cotton spinning factory. It showed, leaving no doubt the way ahead and was widely copied.
History
The cotton mill's operation finally came to an end in the nineteenth century and the buildings were used for other purposes. The importance of this site is not that it was the first but that it was the first successful cotton spinning factory. It showed, leaving no doubt the way ahead and was widely copied.
Waterworks
A complex diagram of the watercourses. Originally the sough drained into the stream back in the village, and both powered the original mill. The sough was separated and brought along a channel on the south side of Mill Road to the aqueduct. Both then supplied the second mill. A complicated set of channels and streams controlled the supply to the mill, or, on Sundays, the canal, with the excess drained into the river.
The stream in the mill yard used to control the water supply.
Location of the breastshot wheel for the 1775 mill.