This source could be reliable as the facts that are presented can be backed up with other sources. E.g. ‘in 1768… he perfected the roller spinning device which came to be known as the ‘Waterframe’.
‘Richard Ark Wright was a kind employer’.
What evidence do we have to support this view?
Source 1 shows us that he had houses built for his workers; they were fairly big and didn’t look crowded. They were built out of stone and brick and looked well constructed. There are also chimneys, which shows they had warmth. However, these could just be warm so that workers didn’t get ill and not turn up for wok. Also, building houses for your workers might seem a nice gesture, but the workers wouldn’t work at the mill without a home near by so Arkwright could have done this to attract workers. We also cannot tell from the source what these houses were like inside and how easy to afford they were. E.g. did workers have to buy the houses or pay rent and how much this was.
Source 3 is an advert for Richard Arkwright's mill which offers constant employment, which at the time was a rare and good thing. The advert offers training as well as a whole range of jobs within the mill. He also offers jobs to children, which would benefit the whole family. The advert doesn’t state the hours or pay of the jobs.
Source 10 is a contemporary song, which says nice things about Arkwright, that he is a ‘Matchless Inventor’, but says nothing about his personality e.g. being a kind man and boss etc. It says how good his mills are and calls Arkwright their ‘Noble Master’. This was written around 1790 but we don’t know who wrote it. Arkwright died in 1792; some people say that this could have been written when he died. I do not think this could be a possibility as this is a cheerful song and says things about good employment, and if he was dead then it might have been nice things about him as a person in memory.
Part B
‘Cromford changed a great deal between 1770 and 1840’. Use the sources in the booklet and fieldwork evidence to explain whether or not you agree with this view.
In 1770, before Richard Arkwright came to Cromford, it was a small hamlet, consisting of a few farms and houses. Most of the people who lived in Cromford worked as farmers or in the nearby lead mines. I think that Cromford changed a great deal between 1770 and 1840, although the growth of the time slowed down around 1800. when Ark Wright died he had built mills, houses, Willersley Castle, Greyhound Hotel and his son built a church, school, railway and canal.
This is a graph to show the growth of Cromford
Growth rate was very slow. As soon as his first Before Arkwright came to Cromford, there was nothing there, so the mill was built in 1771 the change in Cromford increased rapidly. Between this time and 1800 Arkwright was building all his mills and houses, after this nothing else was constructed so the growth rate slowed.
The first major change in Cromford was the factory site. Arkwright built his first mill in 1771.
Arkwright chose Cromford because it was a small village with a fast flowing river called Bonsall Brook. The water was relatively warm due to the nearby springs so this ensured the water never froze in the winter, which was good for Arkwright’s purposes. Cromford was a good choice because there was a lot of unemployment, so there was an available workforce to employ. Also the land was cheap and because it was rural countryside, there was a great deal of secrecy to protect his ideas.
Source one shows the houses that Richard Arkwright built for his workers. This shows that Cromford was chosen because of the great amount of land available to build his village. Source nine shows a modern map of Cromford. This shows how Cromford changed from a small village named Scarthin, containing only lead mines, a chapel, a few farms, and a raging river with a very small community of people to a busy village.
Source five is the 250th birthday anniversary brochure, produced by the Arkwright Society. This can be used to show that the Cromford site was successful. “1771, he built a mill in Cromford…this was the world’s first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill.”
Source 10 is a contemporary song about Cromford. It was sung around 1790, which shows it was after the time Arkwright had built his mills. It is a song which praises Richard Arkwright and the work that he has done.
“No longer in want don’t remain in despair, you’ll meet with employment and each get a share,” this shows that Cromford was a good place to come to get work.
The mills were the first major change in Cromford. The first mill, built in 1771 was 5 storeys high and contained 30 machines in each floor, it was very noisy place to work. The mill had lots of windows so that Arkwright could see his employee’s at any time of day or night. This made the workers work better. “When they are lighted up, on a dark night look most beautiful.” This is from Viscount Torrington’s diary in 1790. This source is quite reliable as Torrington had many reservations about Arkwright’s mills, and the quote is a compliment to Arkwright’s work. The second mill was added in 1776 and was 7 storeys high. It was 130ft long and 30ft wide. This shows that Arkwright's business was thriving. This mill was destroyed in a fire in 1780. A third mill was built in 1791.
In 1776 Arkwright began to construct a village for his workers. He started this by building terrace houses on North Street. These were 3 storeys high, and had lots of windows at the front of the house but none at the back. The doors on these houses were very low. The weavers of the family used the top room of the houses. These houses had tiny gardens with steps leading down to them. On the streets the roads were above the pavements. Source one shows an incorrect picture of Arkwright’s houses. This is because the people on the picture are a lot taller than the doors. Also, the houses on the picture have draining pipes, which weren’t around in the 18th century. This makes source one unreliable.
Between 1789 and 1790 Arkwright built Willersley Castle as a home. It was set at the top of the valley, with his mills beneath him. Viscount Torrington had many criticisms on Arkwright's choice of ground. “From which it is impossible to see the beauties of the river. It is the house of an overseer surveying the works, not of a gentleman…But light come, light go, Sir Richard has honourably made his great fortune and so let him still live in a great cotton mill.” Although Torrington’s opinion is against Arkwright, this source is still reliable as it tells us what you can see from the castle, and gives the opinion of a tourist.
Arkwright built the Greyhound Hotel in 1790. Its purpose was to entertain businessmen and throw parties. Just outside the hotel was a marketplace where villagers could buy their daily supplies. There are no sources to justify the success of The Greyhound Hotel, but from our fieldwork, the hotel seemed well built and was picturesque. Just two years after Arkwright built the Greyhound Hotel, he passed away in his home in Willersley castle.
Richard Arkwright Jr, Richard Arkwright’s son, paid £500 in 1797 for the church. Richard Arkwright’s body was moved from its original burial place to here, where he was later joined by the other members of his family. The church was constructed near the mills. Faces of Arkwright’s family are sculptured into the coving on the surrounding of the church. Richard Ark Wright Jr. built a school in 1832. There are no sources to show why these were built and any changes they may have made to the community.
The Cromford and High Peak Railway was built in 1830. The railway was planned in 1825 and the railway age was just taking off, when it closed in 1967 it was one of the oldest railways in operation. The railway joined Manchester and the Midlands, both rich trading areas. It was built as a series of level sections and steep slopes called inclines. For the majority of its service, the railway was unprofitable but eventually became an important carrier of limestone and lime from the quarries, which developed alongside it. There are no sources to show whether this information is correct or whether the railway made any significant changes to the mills.
The canal was completed in 1793, it was used to transport goods such as coal, iron, lead, limestone, textile yarn and raw cotton to places such as Derby, Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Hull. Water Stored here was then sent down to the mill in a rush. There are no sources on the canal to show if the canal created any significant changes to the Cromford mills industry.
The majority of changes occurred between 1770 and 1800. This was for many reasons. Cromford was set in a valley, so it was hard to extend the village up steep hills, so did not grow into a city. Also by 1800 the village had everything it needed to be a success. When Richard Arkwright Jr. took over Richard Arkwright’s responsibilities he had no real interest in the cotton industry to make any further changes. One of the reasons for the limit of change in Cromford was the competition it was receiving from other towns and cities.
Before Arkwright came to Cromford it was a small hamlet so the growth rate was low. In 1771 the changes increased rapidly. These changes took place until 1800 where the growth rate slowed. The main changes after 1800 was the Cromford and high peak railway. This changed Cromford a great deal. It was one of the first built in the country, but took awhile to make a profit.
I used sources 1,2,5,9 and 10 from ‘Cromford coursework 1998’.
Source 1 shows the houses that Arkwright built in the 18th century.
Source 2 shows extracts from Viscount Torrington’s Derbyshire Journey 1781.
Source 5 is a 250th Birthday Anniversary Brochure, produced by The Arkwright Society in 1982.
Source 9 is a modern map of Cromford village.
Source 10 is a contemporary song from around 1790 about Richard Arkwright and his mills.
I think that Cromford changed a great deal between 1770 and 1840. My reason for this is that Richard Arkwright changed Cromford into a bustling and successful village.