Strategic Objectives Theme 5
Despite growing competition from elsewhere in Britain and abroad, some of the early mills in the Derwent Valley adapted by innovation to the changing economic conditions of the 19th century and remained in operation into the last quarter of the following century. Following the initial wave of innovation in textile production, the next generation continued to develop and improve on this work, striving to embrace new ideas and to harness them for use in the mills, associated industrial settlements and farms to ensure efficiency and rapid growth. This ensured that each new mill, particularly those constructed by the Strutt family at Belper and Milford, was an enhancement of its predecessor, leaving an impressive built environment and archaeological legacy.1 This progressive mindset was passed on to future generations throughout the 19th century, ensuring that factories benefiting from further investment in innovative technologies continued to thrive after the initial expansion of production.
William Strutt’s ground-breaking experiments in engineering and construction ensured greater resistance to fire,2 further enhanced by the use of gas as an alternative for lighting from 1822, while the spoked waterwheels developed by Thomas Hewes provided greater power from reduced water flows.3 A deeper understanding is needed of these and other innovations, which ensured continued profitability and reduced risks and contributed to the growth of a more content, healthier and productive workforce than was usual for the time.4 Innovations embraced and developed by the Strutts encouraged others to keep pace, ensuring that the Derwent Valley continued to see developments across the industrial spectrum as the region experienced growth in textile manufacturing and other industries and in farming. With the implosion of the British cotton industry at the close of the 19th century, both the Strutts and the Arkwrights saw the value of consolidating with other British companies to compete more effectively in a global market. This collaborative approach stimulated a new wave of development and growth within the Valley, particularly at Belper and Masson, which ensured continued production for nearly a century. As part of this process, the need for, creation of and continuing adaptability of the English Sewing Cotton Company (permitting it to survive changes in the global market) is a subject of particular interest that would warrant further investigation.5
Adrian Farmer & Mary Smedley
Fig.4.25 Cross-section of North Mill, Belper in Rees’s Cyclopaedia.6 This iron-framed mill, rebuilt in 1804 by William Strutt, incorporated a host of innovative features designed to resist combustion
References
Menuge, A 1993 ‘The cotton mills of the Derbyshire Derwent and its tributaries’. IAR 15 (1) 38–61
2 Falconer, K A 1993 ‘Fire proof mills: The widening perspective’. IAR 16 (1), 11–26
3 Hills, R L 1970 Power in the Industrial Revolution. Manchester: MUP, 112–3
4 Fitton, R S and Wadsworth, A P 1958 The Strutts and the Arkwrights, 1758–1830. Manchester: MUP 224–60
5 Blyth, H E 1947 Through the Eye of a Needle. The Story of the English Sewing Company. London: Bemrose
6Rees, A 1802–20 The Cyclopaedia, or Universal Directory of Arts, Sciences and Literature. London: Longman
This strand of the research framework will explore the changing character of tourism in the Derwent Valley from around 1840 to the 21st century. National trends, including the development of an integrated rail infrastructure, rising incomes among the middle classes and changing patterns of leisure and consumption, led to a rapid expansion in tourist destinations across the country from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries.1-3 The attractive rural scenery and dramatic geological formations that had long attracted visitors to Derbyshire continued to appeal to the growing proportion of the population living in urban environments and industrial settings, while the spectacular success of Matlock Bank as a centre for hydropathy from the 1850s to the 1940s spurred developments at Matlock Bath, the premier resort in the Derwent Valley.4-6 The region’s distinctive pattern of industrial development, with many key sites easily accessible by rail, also continued to be celebrated. By the early 20th century, travellers included growing numbers of working class visitors able to take advantage of scheduled leisure time, cheap rail tickets and coaching services. Cheaper travel influenced the length of time visitors spent in the valley, and the increasing popularity of day trips shaped the amenities and facilities that were developed to fulfil the needs of tourists. The creation in the 20th century of leisure destinations catering for the local population and visitors from farther afield is another important theme of interest which would warrant further study.
The Valley’s place within the competitive national market can be assessed through the wealth of printed publicity and marketing material that circulated widely throughout this period, but which has yet to be studied systematically from this perspective. These include The Gem of the Peak,7 the Shell Guide,8 and numerous local publications, including guidebooks9-11 and newspapers.12 Further research is also required to establish how the economic decline associated with closure of many of the textile factories impacted on these established patterns of tourism and led to initiatives to shape the Valley’s industrial heritage assets as visitor attractions. The role of local authority and national funding bodies was central to these developments and merits particular attention.
Jane Adams
Fig. 4.27 Detail of an early 1900s postcard showing the Royal Hotel at Matlock Bath, built in 1878 and destroyed by fire in 1927. The hotel is overlooked by the iron and glass Old Pavilion of 1884, incorporating a central concert hall, assembly rooms, refreshment saloon, reading room and extensive gardens. The Pavilion had fallen into serious disrepair by the 1950s and the site is now occupied by Gulliver’s Kingdom theme park, founded in1978 (Valentine & Sons, Dundee and London; image courtesy of Derbyshire Local studies Libraries and www.picturethepast.org.uk: DCHQ001699)
References
1 Berghoff, H, Korte B, Sneider, R and Harvie C (eds) 2000 The Making of Modern Tourism: The Cultural History of the British Experience, 1600-2000. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
2 Hewison, R 1987 The Heritage Industry. London: Methuen
3 Ousby, I 1990 The Englishman’s England: Taste, Travel and the Rise of Tourism. Cambridge: CUP
4 Adams, J M 2015 Healing with Water: English Spas and the Water Cure, 1840–1960. Manchester: MUP
5 Hembry, P 1997 British Spas from 1815 to the Present. Madison: Farleigh Dickinson University Press
6 Granville, A B 1841 Spas of England and Principal Sea-bathing Places, Vol. 2. Midland and Southern Spas. London: Henry Colburn
7Adam, W 1838 The Gem of the Peak, 1 edn. London: Longman
8 Hobhouse, C 1935 Shell Guide to Derbyshire. London: Architectural Press
9 Bemrose and Sons 1867 Bemrose’s Penny Guide for Excursionists to Matlock Bath and Neighbourhood. London: Bemrose and Sons
10 Heywood, J 1867 Illustrated Guide to Matlock Bath and its Vicinity. Manchester: John Heywood
11 Hilder, J (ed) 1898 A New Guide to Matlock Bath. Matlock Bath: W E Smith (special illustrated version)
12 Eg Matlock Bath Herald and Matlock Bath Telegraph
The Victorian era witnessed significant industrial expansion, mainly powered by coal and steam, in large metropolitan conurbations like Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and to some extent Derby, but upstream of that city the Derwent Valley remained essentially rural in character. Derby itself expanded massively during the 20th Century as Rolls Royce1-2 and the rail industry3-4 continued to grow, but, although industries continued to develop elsewhere in the Valley, the pattern of small, tightly-knit industrial settlements within a rural setting that developed in the 18th century, and is a defining feature of today’s World Heritage Site,5 was maintained.
Considerable numbers of industrial workers still lived close to their places of work in the 19th century, and a number of factory owners continued to build houses and other facilities for workers and their families into the early part of that century.6 However, as the textile industry declined, and as demands for factory workers slackened, many families migrated to the larger urban areas for work. The pattern of migration into Derby provides a particularly interesting case study, and additional research into early census records and other primary sources is recommended to elucidate further this topic. More recently, the accelerating rise in car ownership, combined with significantly improved train services on the Derwent Valley Line between Derby and Matlock,7 has spurred further demographic changes, with Duffield, Belper, Cromford and Milford developing as dormitory settlements for both Derby and Nottingham. The process of gentrification and the social, economic and political impacts of new residents merit further research to explore questions such as the role of middle class newcomers in maintaining and developing community, arts and cultural initiatives, and their impacts upon the variety of shops, restaurants and service industries in the Valley.
Research efforts need also to be focused upon the impacts of changes in transport technology and availability upon the growing tourist industry, discussed by Jane Adams above,8 and the socio-economic impacts of developing telecommunication and digital technologies. High speed broadband connections now enable many businesses to operate in attractive rural areas, some in regenerated heritage assets such as Boar’s Head Mills at Darley Abbey9 and Arkwright’s Cromford Mills.10 The successful development of these mill complexes as business centres flags them as models for future regeneration projects, while the installation of a heritage interpretation centre in the ground floor of the newly created business hub in Cromford Mill emphasises the opportunities created by such schemes for enhancing public understanding of the technological and social importance of the factories.
Jonathan Wallis
Fig.4.28 Boar’s Head Mill, Darley Abbey: west elevation of the West Mill, constructed from 1821, and in the foreground the mill’s dining room, built probably in the 1820s or 1830s and since converted to a restaurant.11 The Evans family’s textile mill complex is now enjoying a new lease of life as the focus for a wide variety of small to medium industrial and other commercial enterprises and as a wedding venue (photograph © David Knight)
References
1Pugh, P 2000 The Magic of a Name: The Rolls Royce Story – the First Forty Years. Duxford: Icon Books
2 Pugh, P 2001 The Magic of a Name: The Rolls Royce Story. Part Two – the Power behind the Jets. Duxford: Icon Books
3 Bilson, P 1996 Derby and the Midland Railway. Derby: Breedon Books
4 Craven, M 2007 An Illustrated History of Derby. Derby: Breedon Books, 177–97
5 DVMP 2011 The Derwent Valley Mills and Their Communities. Matlock: DVMP, 20–4
6 DVMP 2011, 87–99
7 http://www.fdvl.org.uk
8 Strategic Objective 5B
9 http://darleyabbeymills.com
10 http://cromfordmills.org.uk/content/cromford-creative-summary
11 Menuge, A 2006 Boar’s Head Mills: A Survey and Investigation of the Cotton Mills and Ancillary Buildings. Swindon: English Heritage
The principal figures in the 18th century Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment have, to date, claimed centre stage in research centred upon the Derwent Valley Mills,1 with rather less emphasis upon the factory owners of succeeding centuries.2 However, all of the original companies were passed to a second generation, and all contributed to the huge growth of the British textile industry during the reign of Victoria. The largely public school and classically educated young men who took up the reins from their more artisan fathers took to their responsibilities as industrialists with differing degrees of diligence and focus. Surprisingly, comparatively scant attention has been devoted to later generations of the Arkwright family, either in the Derwent Valley or farther afield.3 Equally, although William Strutt’s pioneering work as an inventor and architect has been widely discussed, less has been written about other members of the second and third generations of the Strutt family and the later progress of his company at Belper and Milford. However, the physical evidence of Belper’s giant East Mill, built in 1912, represents an optimism and output that was of significance and deserves prominence in the research agenda. As for the Evans family, although Jean Lindsay’s study of the Darley Abbey industrial community4 and Adam Menuge’s work on the Boar’s Head Mills5 have advanced significantly our understanding of the family and its achievements, a real opportunity exists to write a definitive study. In short, the role of the mill owners in maintaining the Derwent Valley mills as key suppliers of cotton to the growing industrial towns of Britain and to the Empire is a fertile area for future researchers.6
Most of the Derwent Valley mills survived into the-mid-20th century in the hands of their original families. However, since the 1960s, all (with the exception of John Smedley)7 were absorbed by conglomerates: notably the English Sewing Cotton Company and Courtaulds,8 the former ceasing operations in the Valley in the 1980s and the latter in 2016. Research into the demise of these mills in the mid- and late 20th century and accompanying changes in ownership would provide an important contribution to the study of the textile industry as an indicator of the wider British and world economy.9 There is an opportunity to be seized to record now the accounts of managers, staff and County Council members, as time is limited and as records would appear to be scant. Finally, changes of ownership and redevelopment of the mills in the 21st century as heritage destinations, retail outlets or foci for new small to medium enterprises offers another fertile area of study for geographers, social economists, planners and others (see also Strategic Objective 5C).
Jane Middleton-Smith
Fig.4.29 Belper’s North Mill, rebuilt by William Strutt in 1804 after a disastrous fire, lies in the shadow of the gigantic East Mill, built in 1912 by the English Sewing Cotton Company (photograph © David Knight)
References
1 Eg Chapman, S D 1957 The Early Factory Masters. Newton Abbot: David and Charles; Fitton, R S and Wadsworth, A P 1958 The Strutts and the Arkwrights. Manchester: MUP; Fitton, R S 1989 The Arkwrights: Spinners of Fortune. Manchester: MUP
2 Eg Harte, N B 1969 A History of George Brettle and Co Ltd 1801–1964. London: privately published; Hawgood, R and Spendlove, G 2011 Brettles of Belper. Ashbourne: Horizon Press
3 Beale, C 2006 Champagne and Shambles: The Arkwrights and the Downfall of the Landed Aristocracy. Stroud: Sutton
4 Lindsay, J 1960 ‘An early industrial community: The Evans’ cotton mill at Darley Abbey, 1783–1810’. Business History Review 34, 277–301
5 Menuge, A 2006 Boar’s Head Mills: A Survey and Investigation of the Cotton Mills and Ancillary Buildings. Swindon: English Heritage
6 Berg, M 1994 The Age of Manufactures. London: Fontana; Farnie, D A 1979 The English Cotton Industry and the World Market 1815–1896. Oxford: Clarendon; Chapman, S D 2002 Hosiery and Knitwear: Four Centuries of Small Scale Industry in Britain c.1589–2000. Oxford: OUP
7 Chapman, S D and Middleton-Smith, J 2015 ‘John Smedley: The establishment of a tradition in fine knitwear, c.1750–1874’. Textile History 46, 7–99
8 Rudd, B G 2014 Courtaulds and the Hosiery and Knitwear Industry. Lancaster: Crucible Books
9 Farnie, D A and Jeremy, D J (eds) 2004 The Fibre that Changed the World: The Cotton Industry in International Perspective, 1600–1990s. Oxford: OUP