Derwent Valley Mills

Derwent Valley Mills
UNESCO World Heritage Site
	Masson Mills, Derwent Valley
Location	Derbyshire, England
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iv
Reference	1030
Inscription	2001 (25th Session)
Area	1,228.7 ha
Buffer zone	4,362.7002 ha
Website	www.derwentvalleymills.org
Coordinates	53°1′44″N 1°29′17″W / 53.02889°N 1.48806°W

Derwent Valley Mills is the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, England.^[1]

The site covers several factory communities which were built in the 18th and 19th centuries in a valley of the River Derwent, upstream from Derby.^[1]

History

Industrial development in the area started with the Silk Mill which was built in Derby in 1721 by John and Thomas Lombe.^[1]

In 1771, Richard Arkwright built a water-powered spinning mill at Cromford. In 1776-1777, a larger mill was built nearby. The "factory system "evolved from these two cotton mills. Arkwright's inventions were first put into industrial-scale production.^[1]

The workers' housing was near the mills. The mills and houses make up an architectural record of the development of the area.^[1]

Cromford's mills include Masson Mill, Upper Mill (1771) and Lower Mill (1776). There buildings with various original functions: warehouses, workshops, a loom shop, mill managers' houses, etc. The Cromford Canal was built in the 1790s as part of a route to Manchester.^[1]
Belper's mills were Belper North Mill (1804) and East Mill (1912). Its houses are built from gritstone or locally made brick and roofed with Welsh slate.^[1]
Milford's factory buildings have been taken down, but much of the housing survives. Many of the houses are in rows because of the hilly nature of the area. The public buildings established by the Strutts include schools, churches, and public houses.^[1]
Darley Abbey had five water-powered mills - a paper mill, a corn mill, two flint mills (for porcelain production) and a leather mill.^[1]

The changes in the valley, including the creation of workers' housing, were important in the Industrial Revolution.

Derwent Valley Mills Media

The Derby Silk Mill (Derby Museum of Industry) showcases much of the city and counties rich industrial heritage. It is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site - the East Midlands only such heritage site.*This particular Mill is the world first Silk Mill, and thus one of the worlds most historically important buildings. Derby City Council recently applied for lottery funding to upgrade the museum however was rejected. This shot is currently impossible to take due to the Cathedral Green landscaping work.
Model of a water frame at the Historical Museum in Wuppertal
Workers' cottages in Cromford
The foundations of the 1775 Cromford Mill which was destroyed by fire in 1890, with wheel chamber on the right.
Cromford Wharf, the terminus of the Cromford Canal
Workshops and offices at High Peak Junction – the southern terminus and the junction with the former Midland Railway now the Derwent Valley Line
Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, incorporated many elements of the factory system developed in the Derwent Valley, and was built by Samuel Slater from Belper.
Cromford Mill was purchased by The Arkwright Society in 1979 after the site was abandoned by its previous owners, a dyes and paints company.