Buxton Museum & Art Gallery
Woodland Wharf
The original part of John Smedley’s mill was built by Peter Nightingale in 1783, who also owned the woods you are walking through. Workers harvested wood from here to make fuel for the Nightingale’s lead smelters, which enabled the family to make their fortune. [Read more…] about Patent Rivalry
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Sir Richard Arkwright’s Masson Mills were established in 1783 and in continuous use until 1991. Today you can experience the sights, sounds and smells of a bygone age when you visit the working textile museum.
In December 2001, the Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire was inscribed on the World Heritage List. This international designation confirms the outstanding importance of the area as the birthplace of the factory system where in the 18th Century water power was successfully harnessed for textile production.
Find out more information about the history of Masson Mills here.
You can also find out what else there is to see and do at Masson Mills here.
You need to climb about fifty steps and you will have a good view of the Mill Yard on your left hand side. The five storey building was Richard Arkwright’s third mill on this site, dated 1785. It now houses the Visitor Centre and Cromford Creative. To the right of this mill is Arkwright’s 1771 mill, the world’s first successful water powered cotton spinning mill. You can hear the sound of water still passing through the site. The visible three storey buildings were warehouses.
Above the warehouses you can see Rock House on the hillside. This is where Arkwright lived until his death in 1792.
This is the Mill Manager’s house built in 1796 with its ornate entrance. Opposite the Mill Manager’s House is the entrance to the mill site with a bollard on the pavement reputed to be made from a cannon used to defend the mill from machine breakers.
Heading towards Cromford Village along Mill Lane, you will pass the buttresses that once supported the aqueduct bringing water to the mill site and the blocked doorway into the first mill.
In the courtyard on your right you can see a brick-built cottage that once housed a worker and his family. Behind you can see Arkwright’s Loom Shop (weaving room).
In December 2001, the Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire was inscribed on the World Heritage List. This international designation confirms the outstanding importance of the area as the birthplace of the factory system where in the 18th Century water power was successfully harnessed for textile production.
Find out more information about the history of Cromford Mills here.
You can also find out what else there is to see and do in Cromford here.
From the top of Scarthin Rock on your right hand side you can see Willersley Castle. This was to have been Arkwright’s new home. It was begun in 1786, but burnt down in 1791, before being finished. Arkwright died in 1792 and was thus never able to move into this new home. Willersley Castle is now a hotel and welcomes visitors to the area.
In December 2001, the Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire was inscribed on the World Heritage List. This international designation confirms the outstanding importance of the area as the birthplace of the factory system where in the 18th Century water power was successfully harnessed for textile production.
Find out more information about the history of Cromford Mills here.
You can also find out what else there is to see and do in Cromford here.