Cromford

Cromford (ˈkrɒmfərd) is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Domesday Book as Crumforde, a berewick (supporting farm) of Wirksworth, and this remained the case throughout the Middle Ages. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,433. It is principally known for its historical connection with Richard Arkwright and the nearby Cromford Mill, which he built outside the village in 1771. Cromford is in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The Cromford mill complex, owned and being restored by the Arkwright Society, was declared by Historic England as "one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable sites". It is also the centrepiece of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2018, the Cromford Mills Creative Cluster and World Heritage Site Gateway Project was listed as a finalist for the Best Major Regeneration of a Historic Building or Place in the Historic England Angel Awards. The River Derwent, with its sources on Bleaklow in the Dark Peak, flows southward to Derby and then into the River Trent. The geology of this section in the Derbyshire Dales is that of limestone. The fast flowing river has cut a deep valley. The A6 trunk road, which was the main road between London and Manchester in former times, the Cromford Canal and the Derwent Valley Line, linking Derby and Matlock, were all built in the river valley. The Via Gellia valley joins the Derwent at Cromford; however, the stream which runs through that valley is actually the Ivonbrook and historically the valley was called the Ivonbrook Valley. The Via Gellia is simply the name of the road which runs along it, named after the Gell family who owned many mines in the area. It is one of the significant sites in the development of the Industrial Revolution. Here, Richard Arkwright built his cotton mill to make use of the water frame.