| Arkwright
& His Cotton Mill in Matlock Bath |
 Discussed below:
About Masson Mill | Sir Richard
Arkwright | The Arkwright Society | More
on site info
External links will open in a new window |
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Arkwright's imposing red brick Masson Mill is situated on the
west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, near the south
'entrance' to the dale. This mill was built in 1783 and is sited
close to Willersley Castle, the house Arkwright built for himself
within the parish of Matlock. Willersley Castle is slightly
down river on the opposite bank from Masson Mill and the mill
is hidden from view. Unfortunately for Arkwright, fire damage
meant that Willersley was not completed until after his death.
Arkwright built his first mill in 1771 in the nearby village
of Cromford, at the end of the dale. The Cromford mill was the
world's first water powered cotton spinning mill. It was the
subject of a very powerful painting, dated about 1783, by the
Derby painter Joseph Wright. This painting is called 'Arkwright's
Cotton Mills at Night' and all the mill windows are illuminated;
it must have been an awesome sight. The artist went on to paint
Arkwright's second Cromford mill in 1776. |
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Masson Mill was Arkwright's
third mill and the photograph of it, on the right, was taken
looking up river. The white bar just discernible in the centre
of the picture is the weir that held back the water for both
the cotton mill and a nearby paper mill - which was built before
the cotton mill. Slightly lower left of centre is where the
mill stream returns to the river.
Adams, in his "Gem of the Peak"' (1840) said
that Masson Mill 'is replete with the improved machinery employed
in making cotton thread'. He also described the night time view
as 'exceedingly imposing. The spacious mill, with its hundred
lights reflecting on the river and the thick foliage, mingling
the din of wheels with the noise of the waterfall'. Opinions
of the mill proved to very divided. Writing in 1908, Firth is
less than flattering about the architecture when he described
'the great brick cotton mills with their stone quoins and windows,
and their tall chimney'. The chimney, which has been restored
within the last few years, had not been erected long before
Firth wrote this.
Firth wasn't the only person to voice criticism. Around eighty
years earlier Rhodes had written in his book "Peak Scenery"
that '... a cotton mill obtrudes on the scene. _ What is such
an object to do in such a place? _ Its presence here, amidst
some of the finest scenery of nature, is only calculated to
disturb ... In another place, the weir near the cotton mill
might be a pleasing object; but in a scene like Matlock dale,
where every artificial interference is offensive, it is incongruous
and out of place' (pp.250-251). |
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Photograph of Masson Mill beside the River Derwent in Matlock
Bath
Reproduced with the kind permission of Frank
Clay |
In 1811 Davies had written about the mill workers and their
housing in his work "History of Derbyshire"
: 'The spacious and elegant mansion of Richard Arkwright Esq.
... together with the numerous dwellings of the persons he employs
[at Cromford]. This is indeed a different scene from the calm
and sequestered environs of Matlock ; but it is by no means
an unpleasing one ; for industry and neatness are combined to
give an air of comfort and animation to the whole of the surrounding
district ; and cold and unfeeling must be the heart which does
not experience gratification at the sight of happy human faces,
or know a sentiment of delight at hearing the sounds of merriment
and cheerfulness amongst the poorest of their fellow mortals.'
 There
are extracts from Davies' Book on site
Arkwright worked long hours himself and expected the same from
his employees.
In 1897 Masson Mill became part of the English Sewing Cotton
Company. Kelly's (1908) Directory stated that 'the Masson Cotton
Mills .... give employment to many of the inhabitants' [of Matlock
Bath]. By 1922 the Masson Cotton Mills were 'now the property
of Sir Richard Arkwright and Co. Limited (branch of the English
Sewing Cotton Co. Limited)' and the mill continued to be a major
employer in the district for many years. |
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| Employees
of Cromford & Masson Mills |
| Beginning of nineteenth
century |
1150 (150 men, 300 women, 700 children) |
1845
Owner & employer: Mr. Peter Arkwright |
1200 hands |
| Extracted
from Benjamin Bryan (1903) |
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The manager of Masson Mill at the turn of the century (19th
to 20th) was John Edward Lawton who built a very imposing house
overlooking the mill. When Lawton's house was first built it
was called Woodbank but was later known as Cromford Court.
View
a modern photo, showing the house surrounded by trees
In recent times the mill building has been turned into a Museum
and shopping centre.
Masson
Mill
In December 2001 UNESCO´s World Heritage Committee in
Finland awarded World Heritage status to the two mills, along
with other notable mill sites in the Derwent Valley. Arkwright's
buildings have, therefore, been acknowledged to be of importance
to the whole world.
Read
"The Derwent Valley Mills and their Communities"
Go to details |
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| Sir Richard Arkwright |
born Preston 23 December, 1732; died Cromford 3 August 1792
Image © Ann Andrews |
Arkwright was one of the greatest men in the British Industrial Revolution;
some say that he was the greatest. He was a 'self-made man', being
born into a poor household and a large family. He received a little
education, but was largely self taught. Richard Arkwright began his
working life apprenticed to a barber and later travelled the country
buying human hair, which he then dyed using a secret recipe he had
and sold to wig-makers. He was acquainted with a Warrington clockmaker
called Kay, who became a mechanic for him and went to Nottingham with
him.
In 1770 Arkwright entered into a partnership with Samuel Need of Nottingham
and Jediah Strutt of Derby. In "Gem of the Peak"
(1840), Adams said of the inventors and mill owners generally that
'they have opened new and boundless fields of employment'. They totally
changed life in Britain.
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Willersley Castle, Matlock
Built by, but never lived in, by Arkwright |
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Richard Arkwright
bought the Willersley estate, which lies within the parish of
Matlock, from Thomas Hallet Hodges Esq. in 1782. |
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He was knighted in 1786 when he was the Sheriff of the county and
arms were granted a little later. Davies,
who regarded Arkwright as a genius, wrote in his book "History
of Derbyshire"' that 'He was knighted by his present majesty
[King George III], on the 22nd of December, 1786, on occasion of presenting
an address, as high sheriff of the county of Derby' (pp.492-493).
Davies also wrote 'at the same time that he was inventing and improving
the machinery ... he was extending his business on a large scale ;
he was introducing in every department of the manufacture a system
of industry, order and cleanliness, till then unknown in any manufactory
where great numbers were employed together...' He added 'that during
this entire period, he was afflicted with a grievous disorder (a violent
asthma) which was always extremely oppressive, and threatened sometimes
to put an immediate termination to his existence, his great exertions
must excite astonishment. For some time previous to his death, he
was rendered incapable of continuing his usual pursuits, by a complication
of diseases which at length deprived him of life ...' (p.492). Davies
continued with 'The merits of Sir Richard Arkwright may be summed
up by observing "that the object in which he was engaged, is
of the highest public value ; that though his family were enriched,
the benefits which have accrued to the nation, have been incalculably
greater ; and that upon the whole he is entitled to the respect and
admiration of the world" ' (p.493).
Arkwright led and others followed - and his ideas about a factory
system were reproduced from the German mill of the same name (Cromford
Mill in Ratingen, Germany) to, many years later, Titus Salt's factory
at Saltaire near Bradford. But Arkwright had to be wary of others
trying to steal his inventions. It was for that very reason there
were no windows onto the roadway on the ground floor of Cromford Mill.
He also had to undergo two trials regarding his patents. His patents
were set aside as a result of these trials but recent research, discussed
in "The Derwent Valley Mills and their Communities"
(p.92), shows he should not have lost.
Benjamin Bryan, writing in 1903, described how, a few days after Arkwright's
death, the whole population of the district turned out to line the
roadsides when his funeral at Matlock took place. He was at first
buried at the Parish Church, but when Cromford Church was completed
his body was moved and reburied there.
See Matlock St. Giles burials for 1792
Additional Notes
To celebrate the bicentenary of the building of his first mill
at Cromford the Arkwright Festival was
held in 1971. The picture of Arkwright, above, is on a small
commemorative plate produced for the festival.
Joseph Wright's famous privately owned portrait of Sir Richard
Arkwright shows a seated Arkwright resplendent in scarlet jacket
and striped cream and green waistcoat with a model of the machine
which revolutionized the cotton industry on the table beside
him.
(Information from: The Masters Volume 22:
Wright of Derby (1966) Purnell and Sons, Bristol.)
There is a painting, Three Children of Richard Arkwright with
a Kite (1791), also by Wright of Derby, that is listed amongst
the Collections of the Tate Gallery, London.
Three
Children of Richard Arkwright with a Kite
Tate
Gallery, London
There is a published pedigree for his family and some of his
descendants are named in various directories and census returns
elsewhere on this site. There is also an extract from "The
Beauties of England and Wales" (1802), written
shortly after his death.
See
links at the bottom of the page.
His will is held by the Public Record Office and you can purchase
and download a copy of it.
See: Will of Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire 04
September 1792 PROB 11/1222
http://www.documentsonline.pro.gov.uk/
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Suggested Further Reading
- Fitton, R.S. and Wadsworth, A.P. (1958)
"The Strutts and the Arkwrights 1758 - 1830",
Manchester University Press
- Fitton, RS (1989) "The Arkwrights, Spinners of
Fortune", Manchester University Press ISBN 0/7190/2646/6
- Unwin, G. (1924) "Samuel Oldknow and the Arkwrights
1758 - 1830", Manchester
- Dictionary of National Biography, Volume I - Look under
Arkwright, Sir Richard
- "The Derwent Valley Mills and
their Communities"
See on site details
The Arkwright Society has done, and is still undertaking,
an enormous amount of restoration work at Cromford Mill. Their
address is:
The Arkwright Society,
Sir Richard Arkwright's Cromford Mill,
Mill Lane,
Cromford,
Derbyshire,
DE4 3RQ
Visitor Services Department :
Telephone +44 [0]1629 823256
Or visit:
Arkwright
Society / Cromford Mill website |
You may like to view more onsite information about the Arkwright family:
Matlock Biographies
See ARKWRIGHT
Description
of ARKWRIGHT Coat of Arms
Pedigree
of ARKWRIGHT
Arkwright Family MI's
Matlock and Matlock
Bath Trades Directories & Census
Cromford,
DBY : Trades Directories and a little about the village
Wolley Manuscripts,
Matlock
'The
Beauties of England and Wales' (1802), cotton manufacturing, the
mills, Willersley & the surrounding area, Sir Richard Arkwright
Engraving
of Willersley Castle
External Links:
National
Portrait Gallery Search the collection
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View
a modern photo, showing the house surrounded by trees