World Heritage Identification Number: 1030
World Heritage since: 2001
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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The Birthplace of Modern Factory System: Derwent Valley Mills
The Derwent Valley Mills, located in central England, hold a significant place in history as they mark the birthplace of the modern factory system. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, this industrial landscape spanning the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, offers a unique insight into the early days of the Industrial Revolution.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Derwent Valley in central England contains a series of 18th- and 19th- century cotton mills and an industrial landscape of high historical and technological interest. The modern factory owes its origins to the mills at Cromford, where Richard Arkwright's inventions were first put into industrial-scale production. The workers' housing associated with this and the other mills remains intact and illustrate the socio-economic development of the area.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): The Derwent Valley saw the birth of the factory system, when new types of building were erected to house the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright in the early 19th century.
Criterion (iv): In the Derwent Valley for the first time there was large-scale industrial production in a hitherto rural landscape. The need to provide housing and other facilities for workers and managers resulted in the creation of the first modern industrial towns.
Encyclopedia Record: Derwent Valley Mills
Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. With advancements in technology, it became possible to produce cotton continuously. The system was adopted throughout the valley, and later spread so that by 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. Arkwright's inventions and system of organising labour was exported to Europe and the United States.Additional Site Details
Area: 1,228.7 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 53.02888889 , -1.488055556
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© Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
