Masson Mill
Masson Mill
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 Location within Derbyshire
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| Cotton | |
|---|---|
| Spinning Mill (Water frame) | |
| Structural system | Brick on Gritstone, |
| Owner | Arkwright |
| Further ownership |
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| Coordinates | 53°06′46″N 1°33′42″W / 53.1128°N 1.5616°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1783 |
| Renovated |
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| Floor count | 5, of 21 bays |
| Floor area | 43.8 metres (144 ft)long and8.4 metres (28 ft) wide |
| Design team | |
| Awards and prizes and listings | World Heritage Site |
| Water Power | |
| Wheels |
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Sir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mill is a water-powered cotton spinning mill situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire in England. This mill was built in 1783. It forms the part of the Derwent Valley Mills, now a World Heritage Site. Nearby is Willersley Castle, the house Richard Arkwright built for himself within the parish of Matlock.
Following the invention of the flying shuttle for weaving cotton in 1733 the demand for spun cotton increased enormously in England. Machines for carding and spinning had already been developed but were inefficient and the cotton produced was of insufficient quality to form the warp of the weave. In 1769, Arkwright patented a water frame to use the extra power of a water mill. His first mill was at Cromford in 1771. Masson Mill is the third, and was built close by to take advantage of the greater water flow from the River Derwent.
Constructed in brick on a gritstone with stone quoins and window dressings, the original 21 bay 5 storey building was 43.8 metres long and 8.4 metres wide. The staircase and ancillary services were in a central projection leaving production floors uncluttered, This was an important advance in mill architecture. The mill was powered by a single waterwheel which, by 1801, had been replaced by two, a system which continued (with replacement wheels by Wren and Bennet in 1847) until turbines were installed in 1928. In its original form, the mill was built with a high parapet which concealed a low pitch roof but probably at the same time as the second wheel was added c. 1800, the roof was raised, as a result of which the mill acquired a usable sixth storey.
A weir was built across the Derwent to build up a head for Arkwright's Mill and a pre-existing paper mill. It is unusual in that it is convex in form, rather than the usual concave.
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