Textile Mill Histories
Derwent Valley Heritage Way
The Derwent Valley Trust was set up in 1996 to promote the history, arts, wildlife that extends 55 miles along the River Derwent, www.derwentvalleytrust.org.uk. The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site comprises of historic textile mills and their local communities that run along the River. Some old mills are open as museums, showcasing the living and work conditions of the industrial revolution, others have been converted into workspaces and accommodation.
Being the epicentre of male enterprise, women and children were often overlooked and not acknowledged for their place in textile development. There are many more signigicant mills in this region relate to this research including Haarlem Mill, now a artist workspace, and Litton Mill, now apartments, which was supposedly notorious for its treatment of women and children.
The Heritage Way walking route passes various mills including
Via Gella
Masson Mills *
Cromford Mills
Belper Mill
Milford Mill
Derby Alley Mill
Derby Silk Mill
Textile Heritage
Textiles are a source of cultural identity and traditions, which holds key information and clues about the trade routes, economy and culture of a region and the environment of the local communities and societies that have evolved through this. Textile knowledge has progressed into an artistic heritage enabling cultures to further tell their story.
Women and Children of the revolution
The industrial revolution had a significant impact on the domestic industries in Derbyshire, though seemingly incomprehensible through this historic lens, the reality of the textile industry is very prevalent for many women today.
Ethnographic Research:
As it is not possible to travel back in time to the early 18th Century to gain full access to the lives of women in the mills, the next best thing is to become embedded in the ethnography of its living history. by studying and participating in the social and cultural lives of the history and local community, to encourage engagement as the key to understanding this particular social setting.
Samuel Crompton Spinning Mule
Masson Mills, Matlock Bath
I am currently undertaking ethnographic research at Sir Richard Arkwright’s Masson Mill (1783) in Derbyshire, which has a significant place in industrial history on an international scale. Many of the buildings along the Derwent River were originally designed and constructed with view of harnessing waterpower to spin cotton for the textile industries nationwide. This and other mills generated employment and contributed to the development of local industrial settlements, providing housing and further iconic structures, as can be seen in Matlock Bath and Cromford.
Masson Mills continued running as a cotton spinning factory from 1783 until 1991, when its final closure caused much disruption and disharmony to the local community. In 1993, the site gained planning permission to convert the Mill to museum, a The World Heritage Fund contrbuted to a £4.5 million project. In 1999 the mill was renovated as a museum and shopping centre, Edinburgh Woolen Mill opened their doors on 22nd August 1999 and the textile museum opened the next day. In 2001 Masson Mills was registered as a World Heritage Site as part of the Derwent Valley Mills (whc.unesco.org) Chapman (2015).
The site closed down in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was purchased br Derwent Hydro Power Ltd (DHP), who use the power of the river to generate electricity, for the building and National Grid. Currently (2025) Masson Mills consists of a 'living history' Working Textile Museum which offers guided tours and self-exploratory visits with live demonstrations of the historic machinery; a visitor centre and café, DHP HQ, conference centre, and multi storey car park.
