Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill
Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill, the world’s first successful water powered cotton spinning mill, was built in 1771 by Sir Richard Arkwright. From then until around 1790, he continued to develop the mills, warehouses and workshops, which now form the Cromford Mills site.
Considered as a whole it presents a remarkable picture of an early textile factory complex.
The Arkwright Society also runs four other venues near Cromford Mills.
Cromford Station
Cromford Station was once part of the old Midland Railway line to Manchester and is the only original station within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. In its heyday it was a noisy, bustling place with a booking hall, two waiting rooms and the Station Master's house. However, over time, the trains became fewer and the booking hall and waiting rooms disused.
In 1971, all the structures at the station were given Grade II listings due to their historical significance: Station Master's house, the Upside Waiting Room, the Downside building and the footbridge.
In 2005 the Arkwright Society launched a rescue operation designed to save the 1874 West Platform Building. Securing a 99-year lease of the Downside building from Network Rail, the Society's in-house building team set about restoring the old building to its once former glory after years of neglect. The mid Victorian exteriors belie the modern office accommodation now contained within and the Society's short-term aim is to sub-lease the two suites.
The decorative moulded ceilings have been restored to reinforce the lofty grandeur of the old booking hall and waiting rooms, and the tall sash windows have been reinstated, providing the offices with plenty of natural light.
Lumsdale Valley
The Lumsdale Valley is a small wooded gorge of outstanding natural beauty tucked away high above Matlock. With its crumbling stone ruins, waterwheels, ponds and waterfalls, nature has melded with the industrial remains of the past to create an oasis of romantic decay. Lumsdale is also one of the best examples of a water-powered industrial archaeological site in Great Britain and it is unusual to see such extensive use of water power in such a relatively small area.
Dunsley Meadows
The meadows are a surviving part of ancient and secondary woodland, scrub, fringe grassland and spoil from past mining activities.
In August 2003 the Arkwright Society purchased the Dunsley Meadows as an act of rescue. Designated a County Wildlife Site by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, the old hay meadows became Derbyshire Dales District Council's first Local Nature Reserve.
Slinter Woods
A Derbyshire landscape of ancient ash woodland, old hay meadows and very rich flowering on the woodland floor - nestling in a valley of bygone industry.
The woodland is an example of the beautiful ash woodlands for which the Derbyshire White Peak is renowned. It is an ancient and upland woodland, developed over steep slopes and exposed crags of Carboniferous limestone and is of restricted distribution in Britain. The ash tree casts only a very light shade and is late coming into leaf in the spring. This gives opportunity for a very rich flowering on the woodland floor. The shrub layer under the canopy trees is diverse and in Derbyshire there is a fortuitous mixing of northern and southern species, for example bird cherry is a northern species which is abundant in the valley while spindle, more common in the south of the country, flowers best on the sunnier southern margins of the wood.
A special tree of this woodland is the native large leaved lime.
Educational Activities
Educational activities are central to The Arkwright Society's role. This means making the best use of the historical, industrial and environmental aspects of our work to promote learning and enjoyment opportunities for young people of all kinds.
From individual and group tours around our sites to practical activities, we set out to offer young people the chance to extend their knowledge and understanding of industrial history and environmental issues. These pages outline some of the opportunities on offer.
Beyond that, we are always ready to explore with educational establishments new ways of enriching their work in this field.
Email us for how to book a Group Tour plus:
- Information sheet for Group Leader
- Risk Assessment
- Information for Coach driver