Derwent Valley Mills

Derwent Valley Mills is the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, England.
The site covers several factory communities which were built in the 18th and 19th centuries in a valley of the River Derwent, upstream from Derby.
History.
Industrial development in the area started with the Silk Mill which was built in Derby in 1721 by John and Thomas Lombe.
In 1771, Richard Arkwright built a water-powered spinning mill at Cromford. In 1776-1777, a larger mill was built nearby. The "factory system "evolved from these two cotton mills. Arkwright's inventions were first put into industrial-scale production.
The workers' housing was near the mills. The mills and houses make up an architectural record of the development of the area.
The changes in the valley, including the creation of workers' housing, were important in the Industrial Revolution.