Cromford
Cromford is a village, two miles to the south of Matlock in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Cromford is a village in the county of Derbyshire on the southern edge of the Peak District. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright, and is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site, the nearby Cromford Mill was built in 1771.
In December 2001 a 15-mile corridor from Masson Mill on the northern fringe of the village built in 1783 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.
Cromford is set in a valley, surrounded by wooded hills and cliffs, bordered by The River Derwent to the east with its sources on Bleaklow in the Dark Peak, and vast quarries to the west. There are many paths and trails giving extensive views of the village and beyond.
The Cromford Canal – built to service the mills – is now in disuse, but has been designated an SSSI – see main article above. The Cromford and High Peak Railway, completed in 1831, ran from High Peak Junction on the canal 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.
Cromford railway station is located on the beautiful Matlock- Derby Derwent Valley Line and can be seen on the cover of the 1995 Oasis single “Some Might Say”.
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.
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.
Many of the workers cottages in Cromford, some having “weavers’ windows” visible on the top floors
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.
At the bottom of the Via Gelia is Cromford Pond built in 1785 as the pound for Cromford Mill, at the top of the pond is a mid-nineteenth century water wheel & mill used for grinding locally mined barytes . It is now used as a furniture & wicker basket emporium.
On the opposite side of the pond is the Famous Scarthin Book Shop & Cafe,in late 2006, Anand Tucker used certain parts of Cromford, including the bookshop, for his film And When Did You Last See Your Father?, based on the autobiographical memoir by poet Blake Morrison.
The Boat Inn , Cromford is further down the lane and backing onto the pond is The Greyhound Hotel built for Richard Arkwright in 1778 for the use of businessmen and others visiting the mills.
Dene Quarry,has operated from 1942 onwards for the production of aggregrates and roadstone -has been excavated to the south west of the village.
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.
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 2, the building was used as a maternity hospital by the Salvation Army while evacuated from their hospital in the East End of London.