Cromford

Cromford
Derbyshire
Cromford Mill
Location
Grid reference:	SK294570
Location:	53°6’29"N, 1°33’40"W
Data
Population:	1,433  (2011)
Post town:	Matlock
Postcode:	DE4
Dialling code:	01629
Local Government
Council:	Derbyshire Dales
Parliamentary constituency:	Derbyshire Dales

Cromford is a village and parish, two miles to the south of Matlock in Derbyshire. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,433. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright, and the nearby Cromford Mill which he built outside of the village in 1771. Cromford is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site.

Geography

The River Derwent, with its sources on Bleaklow in the Dark Peak, flows southward to Derby and then to the River Trent. The geology of this section in the Derbyshire Dales is that of limestone. The fast flowing river has cut a deep valley. The A6 trunk road, which was the main road between London and Manchester in former times; the Cromford Canal and the Derwent Valley Line, linking Derby and Matlock, were all built in the river valley. The Via Gellia dry valley joins the Derwent at Cromford.

The A6 passes to the north of the village of Cromford; its land rises from 260 ft to 500 ft above mean sea level. It is 16¾ miles north of Derby, two miles south of Matlock and ⅓ mile south of Matlock Bath. Trains operate from Cromford Station, on the north bank of the Derwent to Derby and Nottingham.

History

Workers cottages in Cromford, some having "weavers' windows" visible on the top floors

It is one of the significant sites in the development of the Industrial Revolution. Here, Richard Arkwright built his cotton mill to make use of the water frame.

The Gell family, who were local Hopton landowners heavily involved in the nearby Wirksworth lead mining, had the Via Gellia built to connect Cromford and Grangemill in the late 18th century.

Some cottages and farm buildings pre-date Arkwright's time, but a large part of the village was built to house the mill workers. They were provided with shops, pubs, chapels and a school.

The 20th century saw the development of council and private housing. Dene quarry, currently operated by Tarmac Ltd for the production of aggregrates and roadstone, was excavated to the south west of the village from 1942 onwards.

In December 2001 a 15-mile corridor from Masson 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.

Cultural references

The 1931 novel 'Saturday Night at the Greyhound' by John 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 film And When Did You Last See Your Father?, based on the autobiographical memoir by poet Blake Morrison. Colin Firth plays the adult Blake, with Jim Broadbent cast as his dying father.

A quarter of the German town Ratingen is named after Cromford, as this is where industrial pioneer Johann Gottfried Brügelmann 1783 erected the first factory outside England, using Arkwright's factory as an archetype. The factory today forms part of the Rheinisches Industriemuseum.

Cromford railway station is located on the Matlock-Derby Derwent Valley Line and can be seen on the cover of the 1995 Oasis single "Some Might Say".

Landmarks

The Cromford Mill (1771) buildings and accommodation for workers to staff the factories form part of the Derwent Valley Mills, which is recognised as a World 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 a Landmark Trust holiday cottage.

Masson Mill (1783) is on the northern fringe of the village.

Willersley Castle dominates 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.

St Mary's Church, Cromford built between 1792 and 1797 by Richard Arkwright.

The Cromford Canal – built to service the mills – is now in disuse, but has been designated a Site of Scientific Interest. The canal tow path can be followed from Cromford Wharf to High Peak Junction, and on to Whatstandwell and Ambergate. The Cromford and High Peak Railway, completed in 1831, ran from High Peak Junction to the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. Its track bed now forms the High Peak Trail, a walk and cycle route which is joined by the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay.

Notable residents

• Francis Hurt (1803–1861), Tory politician and member of Parliament who represented a constituency in South Derbyshire
• George Turner (1841–1910), landscape artist, was born here.
• Alison Uttley, (1884–1976) writer, was born nearby at Castle Top Farm.

Village flag

The Cromford village flag

In 2016, Cromford adopted a village flag. A distinctive design, it shows a simplified representation of the mill with its wheel, and the mill stream running in and away. The colours of the flag, blue, gold, green white and grey, reflect the colours of the Flag of Derbyshire and those in the arms of Richard Arkwright.

The village flag was first designed in 2006 and flew for the first time in 2010, since when it has appeared on festive occasions. It was registered on the UK Flags Register on 28 June 2016.

Gallery

• 
  The Greyhound Hotel built for Richard Arkwright in 1778 for the use of businessmen and others visiting the mills.
• 
  Cromford Pond built in 1785 as the pound for Cromford Mill.
• 
  This shuttle, locally known as "The Bear Pit" controlled the water from the sough into Cromford Pond.
• 
  A mid-nineteenth century water wheel for a mill grinding locally mined barytes . It is no longer used for any purpose but can be seen turning on occasion.

Panorama of Cromford's mill pond

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cromford)

• Arkwright Society
• Cromford home page
• Christian Guild history of Willersley Castle page
• Cromford Festival