Jedediah Strutt | |
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| Born | 1726 South Normanton,Alfreton, Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 7 May 1797 (aged 70–71) |
| Occupation(s) | Hosier, cotton spinner, and industrialist |
| Known for | One of the first industrialists who fronted the textile industry. |
| Spouses | |
| Children | William, George,Joseph, Elizabeth and Martha |
Jedediah Strutt (1726 – 7 May 1797) or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelled it[1] – was ahosier and cotton spinner fromBelper, England.
Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to thestocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings. Their machine became known as the Derby Rib machine, and the stockings it produced quickly became popular.
He was born to William and Martha Strutt, inSouth Normanton nearAlfreton in Derbyshire, into a farming family in 1726.
In 1740 he became an apprenticewheelwright inFindern. In 1754 he inherited a small stock of animals from an uncle and married Elizabeth Woolatt in 1755 inDerbyshire. He moved toBlackwell where he had inherited a farm from one of his uncles and, in addition developed a business carrying coal fromDenby toBelper andDerby.
Strutt's brother-in-law, William Woolatt, employed one Mr. Roper of Locko who had produced an idea for an attachment to thestocking frame to knit ribbed stockings. He had made one or two specimens which he showed to his friends, though he lacked the interest (and the capital) to develop his idea. Woolatt conferred with Strutt, who sold a horse and paid Roper £5 for his invention. Strutt and Woolatt turned the device into a viable machine and took out a patent in 1759.
Their machine became known as the Derby Rib machine, and the stockings it produced quickly became popular. Cotton was cheaper than silk and more comfortable than wool but demand was far exceeding supply.
Strutt and another spinner, Samuel Need, were introduced toRichard Arkwright who had arrived inNottingham in about 1768, and set up his spinning frame there using horse-power to run the mill, but this was an unsatisfactory power source. InDerby,John Lombe had built a successful silk spinning mill using water power. Strutt and Need joined Arkwright in the building of acotton mill atCromford, using what was henceforth called Arkwright'swater frame. This was the first of its kind in the world, marking the beginning of theIndustrial Revolution.
Strutt bought land in 1777 for his first mill inBelper, which at that time was a hamlet of framework knitters and nail makers. In 1781 he bought the old forge at Makeney byMilford Bridge from Walter Mather. Belper opened in 1778 and Milford in 1782. For each he built long rows of substantial worker's houses and both are now part of theDerwent Valley MillsWorld Heritage Site.
In time there would be eight Strutt mills at Belper which would grow to a population of 10,000 by the mid-nineteenth century and be the second largest town in the county.
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Strutt was the second son of William Strutt ofSouth Normanton and Martha Statham of Handley nearShottle, Derbyshire, England.[2] In 1755, he married Elizabeth Woollatt. They had five children before Elizabeth's death in London in 1774. In 1781, Strutt married again, to Ann Cantrell, the widow of George Daniels ofBelper. There were no children from this marriage.
Jedediah and Elizabeth's children were:
Jedediah died, in Derby, on 7 May 1797, after 'a lingering illness', and is buried in theUnitarian Chapel in Field Row, Belper, which he had built in 1788/9.[3] His final home, Friar Gate House, Derby, is marked with ablue plaque. The house was designed by his son,William Strutt.[4]
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