We visited these grade 1 listed Mills which were founded by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1771. Arkwright's mills became the birthplace of the modern factory system, and the first water powered cotton spinning mill in the world. We had a short but fascinating demonstration of how these machines worked. The mills are now preserved as a museum.
Sir Richard Arkwright is a very big name in Preston. He was born here & worked in nearby Kirkham before his inventions. Lancashire is of course a big part of the spinning industry too, we have lots of old mills here. Lovely to see a proper working loom.
