Lombe's Mill

Lombe’s Mill stands on an island in the River Derwent in Derby, built beside Thomas Cotchett’s earlier mill. The site was chosen where a weir crossed the river, creating fast water to drive machinery. George Sorocold designed the brick building, finished in the 1720s, with stone arches letting the river flow beneath. A large undershot wheel on the west side powered the silk-throwing machines inside. The mill rose five storeys, with winding engines on the upper floors and spinning mills below. The mill was the first successful silk-throwing factory in England and a pioneer of factory organisation. John Lombe brought back Italian designs and craftsmen after visiting Piedmont in 1716. At its peak the mill employed up to 300 workers turning raw silk into thread. Thomas Lombe secured a 14-year patent for the machines, but the venture ended in tragedy when John died in 1722. After the patent lapsed, other mills copied the system in Stockport and Macclesfield. Inside, the Italian works held 26 winding engines and twelve spinning and twisting mills. Heat and steam engines kept the silk workable, while workers endured long hours under strict discipline. Visitors like Boswell toured the mill in the 18th century, though some remarked on the heat and poor conditions. Little of the original structure remains today, yet its role in early industrialisation is still recognised.