Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher, historian, communist, social scientist, sociologist, journalist and businessman. His father was an owner of large textile factories in Salford, England and in Barmen, Prussia.
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.
A factory,manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial site, usually consisting of buildings and machinery, or more commonly a complex having several buildings, where workers manufacture goods or operate machines processing one product into another.
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.
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as 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.
A cotton mill is a building housing spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. Water frames in general have existed since ancient Egypt times. Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread; this was first used in 1765. The Arkwright water frame was able to spin 128 threads at a time, which was an easier and faster method than ever before. The design was partly based on a spinning machine built for Thomas Highs by clock maker John Kay, who was hired by Arkwright. Being run on water power, it produced stronger and harder yarn than the then-famous "spinning jenny", and propelled the adoption of the modern factory system.
Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution in Britain was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines. In Germany it was concentrated in the Wupper Valley, Ruhr Region and Upper Silesia, in Spain it was concentrated in Catalonia while in the United States it was in New England. The main key drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron founding, steam power, oil drilling, the discovery of electricity and its many industrial applications, the telegraph and many others. Railroads, steam boats, the telegraph and other innovations massively increased worker productivity and raised standards of living by greatly reducing time spent during travel, transportation and communications.
Ratingen is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the northwestern part of Berg - about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf.
Engelskirchen is a municipality in Oberbergischer Kreis, Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia, about 40 kilometres east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities are Overath, Lindlar, Gummersbach, Wiehl and Much.
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.
The Mueller Cloth Mill, located in Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is a section of the LVR Museum of Industry. The museum provides insight into the production process of a cloth mill by showing fully working machinery and equipment from around 1900. Opened in 2000, the museum preserves the mill's state at its shutdown in 1961. LVR Industrial Museum Mueller Cloth Mill is an ‘Anchor Point’ of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and a central stop on the ‘Wool Route’.
The Saxon Museum of Industry is a museum with four locations in Saxony. It is organised as a "special purpose association", the members of which are the towns of Chemnitz, Crimmitschau, Ehrenfriedersdorf and Hoyerswerda.
The Textilfabrik Cromford in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was built in 1783 by Johann Gottfried Brügelmann. It was the first cotton spinning mill on the European mainland. Today it is an industrial museum specialising in textile history.
The Baumwollspinnerei Ermen & Engels is a former cotton mill in Engelskirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. It is now part of the LVR Industrial Museum.
The Augsburg textile and industry museum, known by its acronym tim, is a museum in Augsburg a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Augsburger Kammgarnspinnerei, a former worsted spinning mill. The museum is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
The Bocholt textile museum is a museum in Bocholt, a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, part of the district Borken. It is situated 4 km south of the border with the Netherlands. The museum opened in 1989 as one of the eight locations of the LWL Industrial Museum: it is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
De Museumfabriek is a museum in Enschede, Twente in the Netherlands. The new museum is located partly in a renovated Jannink textile factory, in reference to Enschede's textile history, and partly in an adjourning new building, designed by the Amsterdam-based firm SeARCH. The project architect was Bjarne Mastenbroek. It is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
