Cromford Mill facts for kids
Cromford Mill
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 Location in Derbyshire
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| Cotton | |
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| Spinning Mill (Water frame) | |
| Structural system | Stone |
| Location | Cromford, Derbyshire |
| Owner | Arkwright |
| Coordinates | 53°06′32″N 1°33′22″W / 53.1090°N 1.5560°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1772 |
| Employees | 200 |
| Floor count | 5 |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Cromford Mill | |
| Designated: | 22 June 1950 |
| Reference #: | 1248010 |
Cromford Mill is a very important place in history. It was the world's first factory to spin cotton using the power of water! A clever inventor named Richard Arkwright built it in 1771 in a village called Cromford, in Derbyshire, England.
Today, Cromford Mill is a special Grade I listed building, which means it's protected because of its historical importance. It's also a big part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can visit it now, as it has shops, art galleries, restaurants, and cafes.
History of Cromford Mill
In the 1700s, new inventions like the "flying shuttle" made it much faster to weave cotton fabric. This meant there was a huge demand for spun cotton thread. Older machines for spinning were slow and didn't make strong enough thread for all parts of the fabric.
In 1769, Richard Arkwright came up with a new machine called the water frame. This machine used the strong power of a water mill to spin cotton much faster and stronger. He had first tried a horse-powered mill, but water power was much better.
Why Cromford Was Chosen
Arkwright picked Cromford for his mill because it had a great supply of warm water all year round. This water came from the Cromford Sough, which was a tunnel draining water from nearby Wirksworth lead mines, and also from Bonsall Brook.
With help from partners like Jedediah Strutt, Samuel Need, and John Smalley, Arkwright built a five-story mill. Starting in 1772, the mill ran day and night, with workers doing two twelve-hour shifts.
Life at the Mill
Arkwright needed about 200 workers, which was more people than lived in Cromford at the time. So, he built houses for them nearby. This was one of the very first times a factory owner built homes for their workers.
Most of the mill workers were women and children. Some children were as young as seven years old when they started! Later, the youngest age was raised to ten. These children also got six hours of education each week. This helped them learn to read and write, which was useful for keeping records, especially since many of their parents couldn't read.
The village of Cromford grew a lot because of the mill workers. Many historians believe these homes were the first "factory housing development" in the world. Workers had access to shops, pubs, churches, and a school.
The mill gate was very strict. It would shut exactly at 6 am and 6 pm every day. If a worker didn't make it through the gate on time, they would lose a day's pay and also get fined another day's pay!
Cromford Dollars
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In the early 1800s, there was a shortage of silver coins in England. To help with this, Spanish real coins were stamped with new marks and used as money at Cromford Mill. These were known as "Cromford dollars."
Mill's Later Years
The cotton mill stopped making cotton in the 1800s. After that, the buildings were used for other things, like a dyeing plant. In 1979, a group called the Arkwright Society bought the site. They started the huge job of bringing the mill back to its original look.
Cromford Mill is important not just because it was the first water-powered cotton mill, but because it was the first successful one. It showed everyone how factories could work, and many other mills copied its ideas.
A World Heritage Site
Historic England has called the Cromford Mill complex "one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable sites." This means it's incredibly valuable to England's history. In 2018, a project to restore the mill was even a finalist for a special award called the Historic England Angel Awards.
By 2019, the Arkwright Society employed 100 people and had spent about £48 million restoring the site.
Today, the mill and its buildings are open to visitors every day. People from all over the world come to see it. You can find a visitors' centre, shops, and a café there.
The nearby Cromford Canal towpath, which leads to High Peak Junction, is also a special place for nature. It's listed as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Restoring the Mill
The restoration of Cromford Mill has been a long process.
Mill's Condition in 1995
The original 1771 mill building had been made two stories shorter in 1929. It was unsafe to go inside because of leftover toxic chemicals from when it was used as a paint-making factory in the 1900s. A large tank with toxic sludge covered the old foundations of the 1775 mill and the waterwheel area. Only one mill building was safe enough for tours.
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The original 1771 mill as it looked when approaching from the village in 1995.
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The first mill seen from the yard in 1995.
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A tank covering the waterwheel area.
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Work being done on a usable mill building to fix stone parts and put back the old windows.
Restoration Work in 2009
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The existing three stories of the original five-story mill.
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The 1771 mill after it was made longer in 1785.
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The foundations of the 1775 mill, which burned down in 1890, with the wheel area on the right.
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Houses built for the weavers on North Street, Cromford.
Bringing Back Water Power
In 2022, plans were approved to put a new water wheel back in place. They also planned to add a modern 20-kilowatt hydro-turbine to help power the buildings using water, just like in the old days!
Buildings and Structures
The 1771 Mill
The 1775 Mill
Water Systems
Originally, the Cromford sough (a drainage tunnel) and Bonsall Brook both flowed into the village and powered the first mill. Later, the sough's water was separated and sent through a channel to an aqueduct. Both the sough and the brook then supplied the second mill.
In 1785, the mill was made longer. A culvert (an underground pipe or channel) was built underneath for the Bonsall Brook. The sough's water was brought from the village along Mill Lane, crossing it by an aqueduct, to power a new "overshot" water wheel. A complex system of channels and gates controlled the water flow to the mill. On Sundays, extra water could be sent to the canal, with any leftover water draining into the river.
Arkwright faced some disagreements with other local people who also used the water. However, a new drainage tunnel, Meerbrook Sough, was started nearby in 1772. By 1813, this new tunnel started to reduce the water in Cromford Sough. Arkwright's son had to negotiate to keep enough water for the mills. More legal problems followed, and by 1847, Cromford Mills had to stop making cotton because they didn't have enough water. The buildings were then used for other purposes.
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A sluice gate in the mill yard used to control the water.
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The location where the "breastshot wheel" for the 1775 mill was.
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The culvert that carries the Bonsall Brook under the mill extension.
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The 1771 mill, showing the end of the aqueduct on the left and the opening where the water wheel was.
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This gate in the village, called the "Bear Pit," controlled water from the sough.
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Cromford Pond, built in 1785, which served as a water storage area for the mill.
Housing for Workers
The mill manager lived in a house right at the mill site. Even though the first workers came from outside the area, many houses were later built in Cromford specifically for the mill workers.
Cromford Canal and Wharf
In 1793, the Cromford Canal and its Cromford Wharf opened. This connected Arkwright's Mill to major cities in the Midlands and the north of England. However, the canal's use declined as railways became more popular for transport.
Machinery at the Mill
The Water Frame
At first, cotton was prepared by hand. But in 1775, Arkwright got another patent for a water-powered machine that prepared cotton (called "carding"). This invention greatly increased how much cotton the mill could produce. Soon, his factory became very famous.
Arkwright built more mills at Cromford and other places, eventually employing 1,000 workers at Cromford alone. Many other mills were built using his ideas, even in places like Scotland and Germany. A man named Samuel Slater, who had worked for Arkwright's partner, took the secrets of Arkwright's machines to the USA and helped start the cotton industry there.
Arkwright's success led to his patents being challenged in court. His second patent was even overturned because the court said his ideas weren't completely new. However, by the time he died in 1792, he was the richest person in Britain who didn't have a noble title.
Cromford Mill now has a copy of the original water frame machine, which was put in place in April 2013. It was hard to find the right kind of cotton to use in the replica, as no companies in the UK spin cotton today. Finally, a company in Switzerland, Rieter (the world's largest maker of textile machines), provided some special cotton.
See also
In Spanish: Cromford Mill para niños
- Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire
- Listed buildings in Cromford
- Kirk Mill
- Masson Mill
- New Lanark
