John Lombe facts for kids
John Lombe (born around 1693 in Norwich – died November 20, 1722, in Derby) was an important silk spinner in the 1700s. He lived and worked in Derby, England. He is known for helping to bring new silk spinning technology to Britain.
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John Lombe's Early Life
John Lombe was born in Norwich around 1693. His father was a weaver who worked with a type of wool called worsted. John had an older half-brother named Thomas Lombe. After John's death, Thomas became very wealthy as a silk merchant in Norwich and London.
In the early 1700s, the main place for making silk stockings in England moved to the Midlands. People used special machines called framework knitting machines. This meant there was a huge demand for spun silk, more than what could be made.
John Lombe found work at an early silk factory in Derby. This factory was built by George Sorocold for a silk spinner named Thomas Cotchett. It was located on the River Derwent.
Learning from Italy's Silk Secrets
For a long time, the Italians had been using machines to spin silk since the early 1400s. There were even descriptions of these machines, like one written by Vittorio Zonca. Even Leonardo da Vinci had drawn similar ideas.
John Lombe's brother, Thomas, sent John to Italy. His mission was to learn about the Italian machines that spun a special kind of silk thread called organzine. This thread was used to weave fine silk cloth.
A historian named William Hutton wrote about John Lombe's time in Italy in his book, History of Derby. John Lombe carefully studied the Italian machines and how they worked.
Bringing New Ideas to England
In 1718, John's brother, Thomas Lombe, received a special patent for silk spinning machines. A patent is like a legal protection that gives someone the sole right to make or sell an invention for a certain time. This patent was for fourteen years.
Sadly, John Lombe died suddenly in 1722. There is a famous legend about his death. It says that the King of Sardinia, who heard about the success of the Lombe brothers' silk business, sent a female assassin to England to kill them.
You can see a special sculpture of John Lombe on Derby's Exeter Bridge. It's a bas relief, which means it's a sculpture that sticks out slightly from a flat surface.
Lombe's Mill: A Big Step Forward
The Lombe brothers hired George Sorocold again to build a much bigger silk factory. It was built on the same spot as the older factory in Derby. This new factory was called Lombe's Mill.
Lombe's Mill was finished in 1722, the same year John Lombe passed away. This mill was a very important part of the early Industrial Revolution in Britain. It showed how machines could change the way goods were made.
