| Cromford | |
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  Cromford Location withinDerbyshire | |
| Population | 1,433 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SK294570 |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MATLOCK |
| Postcode district | DE4 |
| Dialling code | 01629 |
| Police | Derbyshire |
| Fire | Derbyshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Cromford (/ˈkrɒmfərd/) is a village and civil parish inDerbyshire, England, in the valley of theRiver Derwent betweenWirksworth andMatlock. It is 17 miles (27 km) north ofDerby, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Matlock and 1 mile (1.6 km) south ofMatlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-centuryDomesday Book asCrumforde, aberewick (supporting farm) of Wirksworth, and this remained the case throughout the Middle Ages. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,433.[1] It is principally known for its historical connection withRichard Arkwright and the nearbyCromford Mill, which he built outside the village in 1771. Cromford is in theDerwent Valley MillsWorld Heritage Site.
The Cromford mill complex, owned and being restored by theArkwright Society,[2] was declared byHistoric England as "one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable sites".[3] It is also the centrepiece of theDerwent Valley MillsUNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2018, theCromford Mills Creative Cluster and World Heritage Site Gateway Project was listed as a finalist for theBest Major Regeneration of a Historic Building or Place in the Historic England Angel Awards.[3]
The River Derwent, with its sources onBleaklow in theDark Peak, flows southward toDerby and then into theRiver Trent. The geology of this section in the Derbyshire Dales is that oflimestone. The fast flowing river has cut a deep valley. TheA6 trunk road, which was the main road between London and Manchester in former times, the Cromford Canal and theDerwent Valley Line, linking Derby and Matlock, were all built in the river valley. TheVia Gellia valley joins the Derwent at Cromford;[4] however, the stream which runs through that valley is actually the Ivonbrook and historically the valley was called the Ivonbrook Valley. The Via Gellia is simply the name of the road which runs along it, named after theGell family who owned many mines in the area.
It is one of the significant sites in the development of theIndustrial Revolution. Here,Richard Arkwright built hiscotton mill to make use of thewater frame.
More specifically, according toPeak District Online, "Cromford is also known as the 'cradle' or `birthplace` of the Industrial Revolution for this was where Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), perhaps Britain's first ever `industrial tycoon` and known as `The Father of the Factory System` chose to build the world's first water-powered cotton mill in 1771."[5]
TheGell family, who were localHopton landowners heavily involved in the nearbyWirksworthlead mining district, had theVia Gellia built to connect Cromford and Grangemill in the late 18th century.
Various cottages and farm buildings pre-date Arkwright's time, but a large part of the village was built to house the mill workers. One source states that these are now considered to be "the first factory housing development in the world".[6] Employees were provided with shops, pubs, chapels and a school.
Willersley Castle, now aGrade II* listed building, was also built by Richard Arkwright in 1791; after a fire in 1792, it was rebuilt and occupied by his sonRichard Arkwright junior starting in 1796.[7]
In the early 1800s, Scarthin Nick was "blasted through with dynamite to make way for what later became the A6, thus annexing the Arkwright industrial mill complex on the east side of the main Derby road and the Market Place and village at the bottom of the hill which climbs steeply westward towards Wirksworth, on the other".[5]
The 20th century saw the development of council and private housing. Dene quarry, currently operated byTarmac Ltd for the production of aggregates and roadstone, was excavated to the south west of the village from 1942 onwards.
In December 2001 a 15 miles (24 km) corridor fromMasson Mill in Matlock Bath to the Silk Mill in Derby and including the mills in Cromford, Milford, Belper and Darley Abbey was declared the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.[8] Masson Mill was described by thePeak District Online in 2006 as "perhaps the most prominent of Arkwright’s constructions ... and still in use today as a heritage site museum and retailer outlet".[5]
The 1931 novelSaturday Night at the Greyhound byJohn Hampson takes place over the course of one evening in the bar at the Greyhound Hotel, Cromford.
In late 2006,Anand Tucker used certain parts of Cromford, including its historic bookshop, for his filmAnd When Did You Last See Your Father?, based on the autobiographical memoir by poetBlake Morrison.Colin Firth plays the adult Blake, withJim Broadbent cast as his dying father.
An industrial site in the German town ofRatingen is namedTextilfabrik Cromford after Cromford, as this is where the industrial pioneerJohann Gottfried Brügelmann in 1783 erected the first factory outside England, using Arkwright's factory as an archetype. The factory today forms part of theRheinisches Industriemuseum.
Cromford railway station is located on theMatlock–DerbyDerwent Valley Line and can be seen on the cover of the 1995Oasis single "Some Might Say".
Historically, Cromford was part of theWirksworth Wapentake orHundred; this administrative area, also known as the Soke of Wirksworth (the "small county of Wirksworth"), soon became West Derbyshire Council and is now called Derbyshire Dales District Council. The village is run locally by the Cromford Parish Council.
TheA6, which linksCarlisle withLuton, passes just to the north of the village; it provides easy access toManchester,Stockport,Bakewell,Matlock andDerby.
Cromford railway station is served by trains along theDerwent Valley line betweenDerby andMatlock. The route is operated byEast Midlands Railway, with services stopping generally hourly in both directions.
TheCromford Mill (1771) buildings and accommodation for workers to staff the factories form part of theDerwent Valley Mills, which is recognised as aWorld Heritage Site for its importance. North Street, constructed by Arkwright, is important as a very early purpose-built industrial workers' housing, and was rescued from dereliction in the 1970s by the Ancient Monument Society who have since sold off the houses. One house in the street is now aLandmark Trust holiday cottage.[9]
Masson Mill (1783) is on the northern fringe of the village.
Willersley Castle dominates the hill on the east side of the river, with commanding views of Masson Mill, the village, and the road from Derby. Commissioned by Richard Arkwright, building work began in 1790, but was delayed by a fire in 1791. Richard Arkwright died in 1792, and the building was occupied by his son Richard in 1796. The Arkwright family moved out in 1922, and the building was acquired by some Methodist businessmen, and opened to guests as a Methodist Guild hotel in 1928. During World War II, the building was used as a maternity hospital by the Salvation Army while evacuated from their hospital in the East End of London.[10]
St Mary's Church, built between 1792 and 1797 by Richard Arkwright.
TheCromford Canal – built to service the mills – is now disused, but has been designated aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The canal tow-path can be followed fromCromford Wharf toHigh Peak Junction, and on toWhatstandwell andAmbergate. TheCromford and High Peak Railway, completed in 1831, ran from High Peak Junction to thePeak Forest Canal atWhaley Bridge. Its trackbed now forms theHigh Peak Trail, a walk and cycle route which is joined by theTissington Trail atParsley Hay.
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