Cromford () is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath.

Cromford is first mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as Crumforde, a berewick (supporting farm) of Wirksworth, and this remained the case throughout the Middle Ages. 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 the village in 1771. was declared by Historic England as "one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable sites". It is also the centrepiece of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2018, the Cromford Mills Creative Cluster and World Heritage Site Gateway Project was listed as a finalist for the Best Major Regeneration of a Historic Building or Place in the Historic England Angel Awards. 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 the Gell family who owned many mines in the area.

History

thumb|275px|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 district, had the Via 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". Employees were provided with shops, pubs, chapels and a school.

Willersley Castle, now a Grade II* listed building, was also built by Richard Arkwright in 1791; after a fire in 1792, it was rebuilt and occupied by his son Richard Arkwright junior starting in 1796.

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". Masson Mill was described by the Peak 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".

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.

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

The Cromford Canal – built to service the mills – is now disused, but has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 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 trackbed now forms the High Peak Trail, a walk and cycle route which is joined by the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay.

Notable residents

thumb|upright|[[Richard Arkwright|Sir Richard Arkwright, 1790]]

  • Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792), inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution; helped develop the spinning frame, died locally.
  • Richard Arkwright junior (1755–1843), the son of Sir Richard Arkwright, a mill owner, turned banker, investor and financier
  • Francis Hurt (1803–1861), from Alderwasley Hall, a politician and MP for South Derbyshire 1837-1841
  • George Turner (1841–1910), landscape artist and farmer.
  • Alison Uttley, (1884–1976), writer, wrote about Little Grey Rabbit, born nearby at Castle Top Farm
  • Charles Brown (1884–1940), politician and MP for Mansfield, 1929-1940

Sport

  • Jack Fryer (1877–1933), footballer he played 315 football games including 173 for Derby County
  • Ian Ray Buxton (1938–2010), footballer and cricketer, he played 216 football games including 145 for Derby County

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Cromford greyhound.jpg|<small>The Greyhound Hotel built for Richard Arkwright in 1778 for the use of businessmen and others visiting the mills.</small>

File:Cromford Pond 1.jpg|<small>Cromford Pond built in 1785 as the pound for Cromford Mill.</small>

File:Cromford mill sluice2.jpg|<small>This shuttle, locally known as "The Bear Pit" controlled the water from the sough into Cromford Pond.</small>

File:Cromford waterwheel.jpg|<small>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.</small>

</gallery>

thumb|800px|left|Panorama of Cromford's mill pond

See also

  • Listed buildings in Cromford
  • Cromford War Memorial

References

  • Arkwright Society