Silk mills

The first silk mill was built in Derby around 1718 for Derby silk spinner John Lombe. It was sited on the banks of the River Derwent and became a centre-piece for mill and factory production in the UK.

Lombe's Derby silk mill inspired future mills such as Richard Arkwright's cotton mill at Cromford, Derbyshire and marked the beginning of the manufacturing factory system that we know today.

John Lombe died, suspected murdered, shortly after the opening of the silk mill in 1722. His half-brorther went on to manage the mill and would later become a highly successful silk merchant.

The Derby silk mill passed through several ownerships in the following centuries but continued to spin silk until the late 19th century when it fell into disrepair and partially collapsed.

Today, the heritage of the silk mill lives on as the building has been restored and is now Derby's Industrial Museum.