Cromford is a large village in Derbyshire, England, History It is one of the significant sites in the development of the Industrial Revolution. Here, Richard Arkwright built his cotton mill (Cromford Mill) to make use of the Water Frame — a development of a spinning machine produced by Thomas Highs (1718-1803) that pre-dated, and was probably the prototype for, the spinning jenny pioneered by James Hargreaves. The factory buildings and accommodation for workers to staff the factories form… (More on Cromford)