Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. With advancements in technology, it became possible to produce cotton continuously. The system was adopted throughout the valley, and later spread so that by 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. Arkwright's inventions and system of organising labour was exported to Europe and the United States.
The Derwent is a river in Derbyshire, England. It is 50 miles (80 km) long and is a tributary of the River Trent, which it joins south of Derby. Throughout its course, the river mostly flows through the Peak District and its foothills.
Sir Richard Arkwright was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as the water frame after it was adapted to use water power; and he patented a rotary carding engine to convert raw cotton to 'cotton lap' prior to spinning. He was the first to develop factories housing both mechanised carding and spinning operations.
Whatstandwell is a village on the River Derwent in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles south of Matlock and about four miles north of Belper. Whatstandwell railway station is on the Derby–Matlock Derwent Valley Line, and the A6 trunk road crosses the River Derwent in the village. Most of the population is included in the civil parish of Crich but the village may be said to extend across the Derwent into the parish of Alderwasley.
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is 17 miles (27 km) north of Derby, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Matlock and 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as Crumforde, a berewick of Wirksworth, and this remained the case throughout the Middle Ages. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,433. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright and the nearby Cromford Mill, which he built outside the village in 1771. Cromford is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel.
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks.
Cromford railway station serves the village of Cromford in Derbyshire, England. It is a stop on the Derwent Valley Line, which connects Derby with Matlock; it is located 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) north of Derby. The station, which is Grade II listed, is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.
Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Matlock.
Bullbridge is a small village in Derbyshire. The Bull bridge accident, in which a railway bridge failed as a goods train was just passing over it, happened here in 1860.
Bentley Brook is a stream in Derbyshire, England. It rises on Matlock Moor, flowing south through Cuckoostone Dale, under the A632, into Lumsdale, gathering the valley's waters—notably from Knabhall Brook, out of Tansley, itself dammed and supporting large mills. In Lumsdale it enters a now disused mill pond or reservoir, then flows over a waterfall in the course of passing several historical mill ruins. Finally, it runs through control gates into the outside bend of a tight oxbow of the River Derwent, just beyond Hall Leys Park in Matlock. Although only about five miles in length, Bentley Brook is classed as a 'main river' by the Environment Agency.
The Arkwright Society is a registered charity engaged in the conservation of industrial monuments in Derbyshire, focusing on the water mills of Lumsdale Valley, Ashford, Cromford and Slinter Wood. It is named after Richard Arkwright who founded the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill in Cromford in 1771. The society was founded after a festival in 1971 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this feat.
Cromford Mill is the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England. The mill structure is classified as a Grade I listed building. It is now the centrepiece of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a multi-use visitor centre with shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes.
Wyver is a locality within Belper civil parish, which is in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The area takes up the western bank of the River Derwent just north of the former mills of Belper. Although overwhelmingly rural, the area has some notable associations within that industry and has been used for various activities throughout that time, and in recognition of these it has been made part of the wider UNESCO designated Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
The Derwent Valley Heritage Way (DVHW) is a 55 miles (89 km) waymarked footpath along the Derwent Valley through the Peak District. The walk starts from Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District National Park via Chatsworth, the scenery around the Derbyshire Dales, and through the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. It follows the Riverside Path through Derby and continues onwards to the historic inland port of Shardlow. Journey's end is at Derwent Mouth where the River Derwent flows into the River Trent.
Willersley Castle is a late 18th-century country mansion above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire, outside Peak District National Park. The castle has been a Grade II* listed building since April 2000.
Sir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mill is a water-powered cotton spinning mill situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire in England. This mill was built in 1783. It forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills, a World Heritage Site. Nearby is Willersley Castle, the house Richard Arkwright built for himself within the parish of Matlock.
High Peak Junction, near Cromford, Derbyshire, England, is the name now used to describe the site where the former Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR), whose workshops were located here, meets the Cromford Canal. It lies within Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, designated in 2001, and today marks the southern end of the High Peak Trail, a 17 miles (27 km) trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The Derwent Valley Heritage Way also passes this point, and popular walks lead from here along the towpath in both directions.
Lumsdale Valley is a steep-sided wooded gorge in the Peak District near Matlock, Derbyshire, in England. It is the location of a series of historic water-powered mills.
Cromford is a civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The parish contains 97 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, ten are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, seven are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the village of Cromford and the surrounding area. The parish is important because it was here that Richard Arkwright built the first water-powered mill, Cromford Mill, and created the "first industrial community of its type in the world". The first workers' houses were built in North Street, and each has three storeys, the top floor being a workshop. There are listed at Grade II*. Many houses were built later for the workers by Arkwright and his successors, and these had two or three storeys, but no workshop, and each had a standard pattern of two bays, with the doorway in one bay, windows in the other bay, and services at the rear. These are listed at Grade II. Arkwright's original factory and the subsequent associated buildings are listed at Grade I.
