Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright, born (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) to Ellen and Thomas Arkwright, was an Englishman credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. The spinning frame — a massive leap forward from the spinning jenny of James Hargreaves — was developed in 1769, and the world's first water-powered cotton mill was built in 1771 at Cromford, Derbyshire, (now one of the Derwent Valley Mills) creating one of the catalysts for the Industrial Revolution. He was knighted in 1786. He also created another factory, Masson Mill shortly after his first. The factory was made from red brick which was expensive at the time he built it.
The Arkwright Society, set up after the two hundredth anniversary of Cromford Mill, now owns the site and works to preserve the industrial heritage of the area.
Textiles
Richard Arkwright's father, Thomas Arkwright, was a tailor in Preston, Lancashire, England. Richard, however, was apprenticed to a Mr Nicholson, barber at nearby Kirkham. Richard, therefore, began working life as a barber and wig-maker, setting up a shop in Bolton in the early 1750s. Thus he remained until 1768. It was only after the death of his first wife that he became an entrepreneur.
In 1768, he worked with a Warrington clockmaker called John Kay (not the John Kay who invented the flying shuttle) to make a cotton-spinning frame.
Kay himself had previously assisted a Leigh reed-maker named Thomas Highs, and there is strong evidence to support the claim that it was Highs, and not Arkwright, who invented the spinning frame. However, Highs was unable to patent or develop the idea for lack of finance. Highs, who was also credited with inventing a Spinning Jenny several years before James Hargreaves produced his, probably got the idea for the Spinning Frame from the work of John Wyatt and Lewis Paul in the 1730s and 40s.
The machine used a succession of uneven rollers rotating at increasingly higher speeds to draw out the roving, before applying the twist via a bobbin-and-flyer mechanism. It could make cotton thread thin and strong enough for the warp, or long threads, of cloth. Arkwright moved to Nottingham, formed a partnership with local businessmen Jedediah Strutt and Samuel Need, and set up a mill powered by horses. But in 1771, he converted to water power and built a new mill in the Derbyshire village of Cromford.
It soon became apparent that the tiny village would not be able to provide enough workers for his mill. So he built a large number of terraced cottages near the mill and imported workers from outside the area. He also built the Greyhound public house (Greyhound Hotel) which still stands in Cromford market square.
Arkwright encouraged weavers with large families to move to Cromford. He also allowed them a week’s holiday a year. However, this came on condition that they couldn’t leave the village. Later in life, he taught himself the simple branches of education. He was later known as the father of the industrial revolution.
Personal life
Arkwright married his first wife, Maria Smith, in 1755. They had a son, Richard Arkwright Junior, who was born the same year. The following year, Patience died of unspecified causes. Arkwright later married Margaret Biggins in 1761. They had three children, of whom only Susanna survived to adulthood.
Trivia
- Richard Arkwright's barber shop in Churchgate, Bolton, was demolished early in the last century. There is a small plaque above the door of the building that replaced it, recording Arkwright's occupancy.
- Sir Richard Arkwright lived at Rock House in Cromford, opposite his original mill, but in 1788 he purchased an estate from Florence Nightingale’s father, William, for £20,000 and set about building Willersley Castle for himself and his family. However just as the building was completed it was destroyed by fire, and Arkwright was forced to wait a further two years whilst it was rebuilt. But he died aged 59 in 1792 and never lived in the castle which was only completed after his death. Willersley castle is now a hotel.
Here is an obituary for Richard Arkwright written a few days after he died :
The youngest of thirteen children, Sir Richard Arkwright was born in Preston on 23rd December 1732 and five days ago, he died. Arkwright will be remembered by most for his reformation of the way that people work. No one has had greater influence and indeed revolutionised industry than Sir Richard Arkwright.
At 60 years of age, Arkwright died one of the richest men in England. It is estimated that his fortune amounted to something in the region of £500,000. In 1762 Arkwright started a wig-making business. This involved him travelling the country collecting people's discarded hair.
While on his travels, Arkwright heard about the attempts being made to produce new machines for the textile industry. Arkwright also met John Kay, a clockmaker from Warrington, who had been busy for some time trying to produce a new spinning-machine with another man, Thomas Highs of Leigh. Kay and Highs had run out of money and had been forced to abandon the project.
To Arkwright’s amazement, John Kay invited him to help produce this remarkable new machine. Arkwright accepted Kay’s offer and employed a local craftsman, and miraculously, it wasn’t long until the four actually produced the brand new “Spinning Frame”.
Arkwright patented this and his “Water Frame” in 1769, which caused great rivalry between him and other cotton spinning entrepreneurs. In 1771 Arkwright invented the world’s first water powered cotton mill at Cressbrook in Derbyshire.
A series of court cases followed as Arkwright attempted to prosecute rivals who had infringed his patents, culminating in an action brought by The Crown in 1785.
Surely, Arkwright’s contribution to the cotton industry entitles him to be referred to the father of the industrial revolution and will always be remembered for his great inventions.
- There is an elementary school named in his name in Glendale, NY.
- Please note: Florence Nightingale's father was William Edward Shore who took his great uncle's name "Nightingale" in 1815 at the age of 24. His great uncle was Peter Nightingale 1736-1803 who never married and had no direct inheritors. This Peter Nightingale sold Richard Arkwright the lands in Cromford in 1776 and Willersley in 1788.)
See also
External links
- Essay from http://www.cottontown.org on Arkwright and the Water Frame.
- Essay from http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/
- Revolutionary Players website
- Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
- The New Student's Reference Work/Arkwright, Sir Richard