East Midlands Tourism

Cromford Mill is the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill and acclaimed throughout the world as being the first, complete factory system. Sir Richard Arkwright, hailed as the "father of the factory system" opened the mills in 1771 and built the nearby town of Cromford to house the workforce. The twentieth century brought decline to cotton milling at Cromford, and became home to a colour pigment manufacturing company until 1979 when the Arkwright Society set about renovating the sight.