Spinning Down the Derwent past events


	UNESCO World Heritage A Valley of Learning Opportunities The factory system was developed in the textile mills of the Derwent Valley. It was a system in which people, generally women and children who were unskilled or semi-skilled, worked on a regular shift system in large buildings and lived in nearby dependent communities. A large number of the textile mills of the Derwent Valley, including the earliest examples known to have been built in the world, are still standing. Apart from the buildings themselves, important elements of the supporting infrastructure have survived, including the engineering structures which carried the water power systems from the river Derwent and its tributaries, and the transport infrastructure including toll roads, tramways and canals. Furthermore, the factory settlements that were constructed at Cromford, Belper, Milford and Darley Abbey are almost completely preserved including in Cromford and Milford, the factory masters’ own residences and, notably in Belper and Cromford, farms and estate buildings. The overall result is an ensemble of buildings, structures and settlements, all grouped within a distinctive landscape that is dominated by the river that attracted the initial investment in the area. The integrity of the scene remains evocative of the period in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when, in this hitherto obscure Derbyshire valley, the factory system was born. Here are the most accessible and interesting sites that can be visited, by using a well developed Rights of Way network throughout the valley from Derby to Matlock Bath. Why were the Derwent Valley Mills inscribed on the World Heritage List? The Derwent Valley Mills were inscribed on the World Heritage List because the site met two of the criteria established by UNESCO. back to top Which criteria did the Derwent Valley Mills meet? Derwent Valley Mills satisfied two of the criteria, as follows: Criterion (ii) The site should exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town planning or landscape design. The nominated site relates to developments in technology in the eighteenth century that introduced the mechanically powered factory system within the textile industry. It began with the construction of the Silk Mill in Derby in the early 1720s for the brothers John and Thomas Lombe, which housed machinery for manufacturing silk thread, based on an Italian design. The scale, output and numbers of workers employed were without precedent. However, it was not until Richard Arkwright constructed a water-powered cotton spinning mill at Cromford in 1771, and a second larger mill in 1776-77 using power from a tributary of the river Derwent to operate his machinery, that the ‘Arkwright System’ was truly established. Arkwright’s mills were so efficient and profitable that they were replicated hundreds of times before the end of the Industrial Revolution. Factory production came to dominate the manufacturing economy, not only of Britain, but also of much of the world for the next two centuries. Criterion (iv) The site should be an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape, which illustrates a significant stage in human history. A large proportion of the textile mills of the Derwent valley, including some of the earliest examples known to have been built in the world, are still standing. Apart from the buildings themselves, important elements of the supporting infrastructure have survived, including the engineering structures which carried the water power systems from the river Derwent and its tributaries, and the transport infrastructure including toll roads, tramways and canals. The listing of Cromford Mill, Masson Mills, Darley Abbey Mills and North Mill, Belper, as Grade I or II*, together with the inclusion of five industrial sites in the Schedule of Ancient Monuments, is recognition that they were already formally acknowledged as being of national importance. Furthermore, the factory settlements that were constructed at Cromford, Belper, Milford and Darley Abbey are almost completely preserved including in Cromford and Milford, the factory masters’ own residences, in Darley Abbey the managers’ houses and village school and church and notably in Belper and Cromford, farms and estate buildings. The settlements’ special architectural and historic interest was already recognised through their designation as Conservation Areas. The overall result is an ensemble of buildings, structures and settlements, all grouped within a distinctive landscape that is dominated by the river that attracted the initial investment in the area. The integrity of the scene remains evocative of the period in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when, in this hitherto obscure Derbyshire valley, the factory system was born. To find out more about UNESCO and World Heritage visit one of these addresses. UNESCO Headquarters www.unesco.org UNESCO World Heritage Centre www.unesco.org/whc Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) www.unesco.org/education/asp There are 26 Sites on the World Heritage List for the United Kingdom. 1986 Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast 1986 Durham Castle and Cathedral 1986 Ironbridge Gorge 1986 Studley Royal Park and the ruins of Fountains Abbey 1986 Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated sites 1986 Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd 1986 St Kilda 1987 City of Bath 1987 Blenheim Palace 1987 Hadrian’s Wall 1987 Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church 1988 Henderson Island 1988 Tower of London 1988 Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s Church 1995 Old and New Towns of Edinburgh 1995 Gough Island and Wildlife Reserve 1997 Maritime Greenwich 1999 Heart of Neolithic Orkney 2000 Historic Town of St George and related fortifications, Bermuda 2000 Blaenavon Industrial Landscape 2001 Dorset and East Devon Coast 2001 Derwent Valley Mills 2001 New Lanark 2001 Saltaire 2003 Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 2004 Maritime Liverpool Only six of these monuments represent a period in which Britain held centre-stage as the world’s first industrial nation. The Derwent Valley Mills is part of this sub group of industrial sites as are Ironbridge Gorge, Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, New Lanark, Saltaire and Maritime Liverpool. The Derwent Valley Mills is the only site located within the East Midlands Region.