Building 23 at Cromford Mill

Summary

Former loom shop, constructed in around 1785, altered in the C19 and C20.

Reasons for Designation

Building 23 at Cromford Mill, constructed in the late C18 and altered in the C20, is listed at Grade I for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* the mill was constructed in the C18 by the entrepreneur Sir Richard Arkwright who was pioneering in his use of water power to mass-produce cotton thread, which came to be of outstanding importance in the development of textile mills;
* for its technological interest as an exceptionally early survival from the first generation of water-powered textile mills which illustrates the wider trends in the history of this industry;
* dubbed the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the mill complex became the blueprint for factory production, with Arkwright’s factory system replicated internationally.

Architectural interest:

* the building is a good example of a late-C18 industrial building and while austere, is of clear quality and design interest;
* good quality late-C18 features survive including mullion windows and coursed stonework.

Group value:

* the late-C18 buildings survive remarkably well as a group and help to demonstrate the functioning of this early textile mill complex.

History

The development of the cotton industry in the Derwent Valley in the late C18 has been determined as a key precursor to the Industrial Revolution in Britain. This development initially began with the construction of the Silk Mill in Derby in 1721 for the brothers John and Thomas Lombe, which housed machinery for throwing silk, based on an Italian design. However, it was not until Richard Arkwright constructed a water-powered spinning mill at Cromford in 1771, and a second, larger mill in 1776-1777 powered by the Bonsall Brook and the Cromford Sough, that the ‘Arkwright System’ was truly established. This system was a true blueprint for factory production and was soon replicated elsewhere in Britain, and later in other parts of the world. Along the valley, industrial development followed soon after in Belper (1776-1777), Milford (1781) and Darley Abbey (1782), with these four principal industrial settlements articulated by the river Derwent. Into the C19, the mills along the Derwent Valley were limited in their possibility for growth due to topographical constraints and distance from ports through which cotton was imported. This limitation has to an extent ensured their survival. Overall, the landscape created by Arkwright’s factory system remains largely intact.

After the construction of the first mill at Cromford in 1771 (now known as Building 18), the site soon expanded with a second mill constructed in 1776-1777. The following years saw the vast expansion of the site, with the majority of the buildings constructed in the 1780s. The former ‘loom shop’ (known as Building 23) was constructed in about 1785, during the mill’s main period of expansion. The building replaced an earlier workshop in a similar position, referred to in the original 1771 lease. The building’s large window openings would have allowed a good amount of light to allow hand-loom weaving to take place.

From the 1860s until the early 1920s the building was used as a laundry, in conjunction with parts of Building 19, to which it was connected by a bridge accessed through the blocked door at first floor. In 1935 the ‘Old Laundry’ was sold to the Cromford Colour Company Ltd which used it as a laboratory, and for this purpose several alterations to the building were undertaken, including the raising of the roof by two courses and the introduction of the large windows. The Arkwright Society took over the ownership of the site in 1979 and oversaw the restoration of the mill buildings. The site is currently (2023) open to the public.

Details

Former loom shop, constructed in around 1785, altered in the C19 and C20.

MATERIALS: constructed of millstone grit with a mixture of tiled and slate roof coverings. Windows are C20 steel and timber casements.

PLAN: linear on plan the building is oriented roughly south-west to north-east.

EXTERIOR: the building is constructed of coursed millstone grit under a gable roof and is three stories, with an attached single storey range under a hipped roof to the north-east. The principal fac¸ade faces south into the west yard and has six bays with a timber entrance door under a large stone lintel in the second bay. The main, six-bay range has end stacks with the first and second floors having a symmetrical fenestration with a stone mullion within each bay, with C20 four-light casements in each opening. The final bay at the east end of the building has a blocked doorway on the first floor, indicating a bridge link in this location. The ground floor has taller openings, with six-light casements in each opening.

The west elevation contains a large opening at ground level, with two stone mullions above on the second floor. The pair of stone mullions is mirrored in the east gable end.

The rear (north) elevation contains additional entrances, two at ground floor (one blocked) and one at first floor level which is accessed by a C20 external stair. On the second floor there are a further six window openings, one of which is blocked.

INTERIOR: the building’s stair is located at the north end with the top floor an open space in use as a textile workshop with visible timber roof trusses.

Sources

Books and journals
Hartwell, Clare, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Williamson, Elizabeth, The Buildings of England: Derbyshire, (2016)
Buxton, D, Charlton, C, Cromford Revisited, (2013)

Websites
Derbyshire HER, Cromford Mill Complex, accessed 1 November 2023 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MDR3068&resourceID=1023
Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, History of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, accessed 1 November 2023 from http://www.derwentvalleymills.org/discover/derwent-valley-mills-history/
Cromford Mills, Mill History, accessed 1 November 2023 from https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/learning/mill-history/
UNESCO, Derwent Valley Mills, accessed 1 November 2023 from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1030/documents/

Other
The Arkwright Society: ‘Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mills Conservation Statement 2016’
Patrick Strange: ‘Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill An Archaeological Archive’, 2008
'The Derwent Valley Mills and Their Communities', The Derwent Valley Mills Partnership, 2011
‘Cromford Mills Master Plan, Volume 3 – Heritage Impact Assessment’, The Arkwright Society, April 2011

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