We became interested in the Industrial Revolution last year, when we visited Cromford Mill and Masson Mill.

This year we discovered that Richard Arkwright, who pioneered Cromford's industrial-scale cotton production, was financed by one Jedediah Strutt, who had grown rich in the hosiery business, particularly through his invention of the "Derby rib machine". Patented in 1759, this piece of equipment enabled stretchable stocking material to be made on a knitting frame.

With the backing of Strutt and a hosier called Samuel Need, "Arkwright was able to start converting the premises he had leased in Nottingham, where he intended to drive his new machine by horse power. Even before production began in Nottingham, the partners had signed the Cromford lease, a step which was to have far-reaching consequences for the development of the factory system. The Cromford Mill partnership was profitable financially and, more importantly, it produced a model which could be used elsewhere."

Conscious of the hosiery industry's need for high-quality thread, Jedediah also began building mills in Belper at the end of the 18th century. Together with those in nearby Milford, they grew to constitute "the biggest industrial complex under single ownership in the world". The Derwent river, whose flow powered all this, was known as the hardest-working river on the planet. Belper, as the North Mill museum leaflet puts it, is the story of "how a nailer's hamlet became part of the global economy".



The North Mill, erected in 1804 by Jedediah's son William, "was the forerunner of the modern skyscraper, and the most advanced industrial building of its time. The frame of the building is made entirely of cast iron. Warm air central heating and air conditioning were installed to keep the cotton at an even temperature. The mill wheel was one of the widest of its time, and powered all the processes of cotton preparation."

To encourage families to move into Belper and work the mills (because, as we learned last time, this career wasn't exactly something the peasants yearned for), the Strutts built the first industrial housing estate for their workers. They have the reputation of being quite enlightened employers, by the standards of the time.

Close to the housing (indeed supplanting it in places) is George Stephenson's mile-long stone-lined railway cutting, built in 1838.

What's amazing about Belper is that a large proportion of this extraordinary history is still there, in red brick and yellow stone, before your very eyes.

The North Mill is now a very interesting museum.





The East Mill still houses commercial businesses (and peregrine falcons on the roof, we were told).




The weirs and riverside gardens are highly picturesque.




The workers' cottages are still there (we met one old chap who's lived in one for 78 years).








Other mills are undergoing restoration, or have been converted into retail outlets.








And there are churches seemingly everywhere.






All this makes for an excellent day out. Even more so as you can get a really fine lunch at Nourish, on King Street (mine was smoked salmon omelette and Caesar salad -- both components really nicely executed).

This whole area is incredibly rich in interest, so I can envisage many more excursion opportunities.