Arkwright Society
The Arkwright Society is a registered charity engaged in the conservation of industrial monuments in Derbyshire, focusing on the water mills of Lumsdale Valley, Ashford, Cromford and Slinter Wood. It is named after Richard Arkwright who founded the world's first successful water powered cotton spinning mill in Cromford in 1771. The society was founded after a festival in 1971 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this feat.
The society bought the site of Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill in 1979 and have since restored its Grade 1 listed buildings. The work has cost four million pounds to date and 35 people are employed by the society at the site. Thieves stole a historic clock from the site in 2003.
The Society opened the Cromford Venture Centre in 1996 to provide accommodation for young people studying the industrial history of the region. It also owns Slinter Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, Slinter Cottage and Dunsley Meadows Local Nature Reserve.
The Society also manages the Canal Warehouse at Cromford Wharf, having leased it since 1995, where 2 rooms are used as classrooms. The Society offers tours of the Wharf and the Cromford Canal.
There is also a Nottingham Arkwright Society based in the Nottingham Industrial Museum in the grounds of Wollaton Park.
