History Mesh

Cromford Mill (1774)

Cromford Mill was Richard Arkwright’s first mill, and after it was built his system of production and workers’ housing was copied throughout the Derwent valley.

The mill was the first application of Arkwright’s water frame patent; while water-power was first introduced to England by John Lombe at his silk mill in Derby in 1719, it was Arkwright who applied water-power to the process of producing cotton in the 1770s. The water frame allowed cotton to be produced continuously, and by unskilled workers.

Read more about Cromford Mill on Wikipedia.

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