Was industrial espionage behind creation of world’s oldest factory the Silk Mill? – Derbyshire Live

While it has been modernised in recent years through a refurbishment, it is easy to overlook just how old the site of Derby's Silk Mill actually is.

In fact, the factories that originally formed what was first callled Lombe's Mill are considered the oldest in the world and were built between 1702 and 1717, as a series of industrial projects that began to shape Derby as we now know it.

Also considered the first successful silk factory in Britain, the Mill was built on an island across the River Derwent in the earliest periods of the industrial revolution.

John Lombe (1693 - 1722) visited Piedmont in northwest Italy and returned to the UK with details of the Italian silk throwing machines, and experienced Italian craftsmen, to begin a production process in the UK.

This was an act considered by some to be an early example of industrial espionage and reaction further soured when Lombe managed to gain a 14-year patent to protect the design of the throwing machines.

Derby was seen as a ideal location to build the factory as its river had a fast flow and it was near the London to Carlisle road - today known as the A6.

A statement from Derby Museums - who today manage the site - said: "Derby Silk Mill widely regarded as the site of the worlds first modern factory, built in the valley that changed the world.

"Industry brought prosperity to some and poverty and wage slavery to others. Yet it shaped Derby as a city of making and creativity.

"Industrial society led to the creation of civic institutions and stimulated a civil society in which people campaigned for social and political rights."

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The architect was George Sorocold and the original building is said to be of Italian design, five stories high, and featuring 26 Italian winding engines that spun the raw silk.

Lombe aimed to improve production quantities compared to less effective mills in Italy and not only did his efforts result in the first fully mechanical factory in the UK, it also meant his business could now provide serious competition to Italian counterparts.

The machines required a power source which came from a water wheel turned by the River Derwent that drove the large spinning circular machines - the factory's greatest innovation.

At its height, the mill employed around 300 people. After John Lombe's unexpected death in 1722 aged just 29, the business was taken over by his half-brother, before the 14-year patent expired in 1732.

After this, other mills were built in Stockport and Macclesfield and seven years later the mill was sold to Thomas Wilson in 1739.

The heavily-modified structure continued to produce silk until about 1908, when chemists F.W. Hampshire and Company took over the site to manufacture fly papers and cough medicines.

Ashley Waterhouse, chairman of Derby Civic Society, said: "The mill was an innovation of its time.

"There are stories of John Lombe going to Italy to research the whole process and jotting down drawings of cotton spinning machines in the night.

"The mill had its own power source as the River Derwent and the building was a lot bigger back then.

"There was a workhouse nearby where the children who worked at the factory would stay. It was even visited by Benjamin Franklin once when he came to Derby.

"Unfortunately not much of the original building remains, but it's still a site where Derby can embrace its industrial history and that's what the plan is with the new museum.

"We can champion our industrial history there because the site is of international importance."

On December 5, 1910, a significant fire broke out in an adjacent flour mill and engulfed the Silk Mill, which led to the mill's east wall falling into the river.

The building was subsequently rebuilt to the same height, with much of the original structure lost, although parts of its original tower from 1717 and its foundations are still visible.

During the 1920s, ownership passed to the Electricity Authority when it was used as stores, workshops and a canteen.

It was then adapted for use as Derbys Industrial Museum, known as Derby Silk Mill, which opened on November 29, 1974 after a large-scale refurbishment.

Derby Silk Mill - today a UNESCO World Heritage site - is due to reopen later this year as the Museum of Making with a new caf, shop and venue hire space.

The Museum of Making added: "At Derby Silk Mill, the Museum of Making is currently under construction and will be opening in 2021.

"Celebrating the areas rich history of innovation, the Museum of Making in the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site will be a contemporary space space telling Derbys 300-year history of making to inspire new creativity.

"Designed and made by the people and industries of Derby with exhibits, workshops, activities and events, there will be something here for everyone."

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Was industrial espionage behind creation of world's oldest factory the Silk Mill? - Derbyshire Live