Masson Mill | |
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Arkwright's imposing red brick Masson Mill is situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, near the south
entrance to the dale. This mill was built in 1783 and is sited close to Willersley Castle, the house Arkwright built for
himself within the parish of Matlock. Willersley Castle is slightly down river on the opposite bank from Masson Mill and
the mill is hidden from view. Unfortunately for Arkwright, fire damage meant that Willersley was not completed until after
his death.
Richard Arkwright built his first mill in 1771 in the nearby village of Cromford, at the end of the dale. The Cromford mill was the world's first water powered cotton spinning mill. It was the subject of a very powerful painting, dated about 1783, by the Derby painter Joseph Wright. This painting is called 'Arkwright's Cotton Mills at Night' and all the mill windows are illuminated; it must have been an awesome sight. The artist went on to paint Arkwright's second Cromford mill in 1776. Masson Mill was Arkwright's third mill and the photograph of it, above, was taken looking up river. The white bar just discernible in the centre of the picture is the weir that held back the water for both the cotton mill and a nearby paper mill - which was built before the cotton mill. Slightly lower left of centre is where the mill stream returns to the river. In 1840 Adam said that Masson Mill "is replete with the improved machinery employed in making cotton thread". He also described the night time view as "exceedingly imposing. The spacious mill, with its hundred lights reflecting on the river and the thick foliage, mingling the din of wheels with the noise of the waterfall". Not everyone approved of the mill. Firth was less than flattering about the architecture in 1908 when he described "the great brick cotton mills with their stone quoins and windows, and their tall chimney". The chimney, which has been restored within the last few years, had not been erected long before Firth wrote this. He clearly didn't think much of either the mill or Glenorchy Chapel, which he said was uglier even than the mill. Firth wasn't the only person to voice criticism. Around eighty years earlier Rhodes had written in "Peak Scenery" that "... a cotton mill obtrudes on the scene. _ What is such an object to do in such a place? _ Its presence here, amidst some of the finest scenery of nature, is only calculated to disturb ... In another place, the weir near the cotton mill might be a pleasing object; but in a scene like Matlock dale, where every artificial interference is offensive, it is incongruous and out of place"[3]. A little earlier, in 1811, Davies had described the mill workers and their housing: "The spacious and elegant mansion of Richard Arkwright Esq. ... together with the numerous dwellings of the persons he employs [at Cromford]. This is indeed a different scene from the calm and sequestered environs of Matlock ; but it is by no means an unpleasing one ; for industry and neatness are combined to give an air of comfort and animation to the whole of the surrounding district ; and cold and unfeeling must be the heart which does not experience gratification at the sight of happy human faces, or know a sentiment of delight at hearing the sounds of merriment and cheerfulness amongst the poorest of their fellow mortals". Arkwright worked long hours himself and expected the same from his employees. Ownership remained with the Arkwright family until 1897 when Masson Mill became part of the English Sewing Cotton Company. At the turn of the century (19th to 20th) the man in charge of of Masson Mill was John Edward Lawton, who built a very imposing house overlooking the mill. When Lawton's house was first built it was called Woodbank but was later known as Cromford Court. Mr. Lawton was described as "being the chief director of the English Sewing Cotton & American Thread Combines, which have a value of £8,000,000 in shares" at the time. Kelly's 1908 Directory stated that "the Masson Cotton Mills .... give employment to many of the inhabitants"[1908]. By 1922 the Masson Cotton Mills were "now the property of Sir Richard Arkwright and Co. Limited (branch of the English Sewing Cotton Co. Limited) "[1922] and the mill continued to be a major employer in the district for many years. Information on this page was sourced from Ann Andrews @ http://www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com/matlock/mills.htm#mm | |