Sir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mill is a water-powered cotton spinning mill situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in

Matlock Bath Matlock Bath is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It lies in the Peak District, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

, Derbyshire in England. This mill was built in 1783. It forms part of the

Derwent Valley Mills 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 18 ...

, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Nearby is

Willersley Castle Willersley Castle is a late 18th-century country mansion above the River Derwent at Cromford, Derbyshire, outside Peak District National Park. The castle has been a Grade II* listed building since April 2000. Standing in of grounds, the Clas ...

, the house

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) 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 t ...

built for himself within the parish of Matlock.

History

Following the invention of the

flying shuttle The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics, and it could be mechanized, allowing for automatic machine l ...

for weaving cotton in 1733 the demand for spun cotton increased enormously in England. Machines for

carding Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...

and

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

had already been developed but were inefficient and the cotton produced was of insufficient quality to form the

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

of the weave. In 1769, Arkwright patented a

water frame 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; t ...

to use the extra power of a

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

. His first mill was the

Cromford Mill 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 De ...

in 1771. Masson Mill is the third, and was built close by to take advantage of the greater water flow from the River Derwent. Constructed in brick on a

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...

with stone quoins and window dressings, the original 21 bay 5 storey building was 43.8 metres long and 8.4 metres wide. The staircase and ancillary services were in a central projection leaving production floors uncluttered, This was an important advance in mill architecture. The mill was powered by a single waterwheel which, by 1801, had been replaced by two, a system which continued (with replacement wheels by Wren and Bennet in 1847) until turbines were installed in 1928. In its original form, the mill was built with a high parapet which concealed a low pitch roof but probably at the same time as the second wheel was added c. 1800, the roof was raised, as a result of which the mill acquired a usable sixth storey. A weir was built across the Derwent to build up a head for Arkwright's Mill and a pre-existing paper mill. It is unusual in that it is convex in form, rather than the usual concave. 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'. Buildings were added to the north and west of the mill by c.1835, some of which were subsequently demolished. In 1911, 1928, and more recently in 1998, extensions were added in

Accrington brick Accrington bricks, or Nori, are a type of iron-hard engineering brick, produced in Altham near Accrington, Lancashire, England from 1887 to 2008 and again from 2015. They were famed for their strength, and were used for the foundations of the B ...

. The mill chimney dates from 1900, and this and the engine house were the work of

Stott and Sons Stott and Sons was an architectural practice in Lancashire between 1847 and 1931. It specialised in cotton mills, designing 191 buildings of which 130 were mills or buildings related to the cotton industry. Abraham Henthorn Stott was born on 25 A ...

, the famous mill architects. In 1897 Masson Mill became part of the

English Sewing Cotton Company Bagley & Wright was a spinning, doubling and weaving company based in Oldham, Lancashire, England. The business, which was active from 1867 until 1924, 'caught the wave' of the cotton-boom that existed following the end of the American Civil War ...

. Kelly's (1908) Directory stated that 'the Masson Cotton Mills .... give employment to many of the inhabitants' f 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 a major employer in the area. The mill has been extensively repaired and restored recently. The mill is now home to a museum and a retail village.

Hydroelectric power

The mill has had hydroelectric generators installed in 1995 which generate 240 kW.

Gallery

File:Masson Mills and Willersley Castle, Cromford - geograph.org.uk - 1194578.jpg File:Masson Mill, Matlock Bath - geograph.org.uk - 281315.jpg File:Masson Mill - geograph.org.uk - 289069.jpg File:Masson Mills WTM 5901.JPG, Six cylinder devil File:Masson Mills WTM 19 Condenser Carding 5941.JPG, Carder File:Masson Mills WTM 5895.JPG, Platt Bros. mule File:Masson Mills WTM 12a pre1867 Lancashire Loom 5876.JPG, Lancashire loom File:Masson Mills WTM 12b Power Loom 5980.JPG, Yorkshire broadloom File:Masson Mills WTM Northrop Loom 5887.JPG, British Northrop loom

References

External links

{{Commons category, Masson Mills
Sir Richard Arkwright’s Masson Mills
- official site Textile mills in Derbyshire Cotton mills Former textile mills in the United Kingdom Museums in Derbyshire Industry museums in England Textile museums in the United Kingdom Watermills in Derbyshire Hydroelectric power stations in England Industrial Revolution in England Spinning Textile mills completed in the 18th century Grade II* listed buildings in Derbyshire Grade II* listed industrial buildings Industrial archaeological sites in England