Masson Mill (built 1783) was Arkwright’s showpiece, constructed after his system was perfected at Cromford. The museum was amazing — not entirely because I now understand how this new revolution in weaving worked, but because I am so enamoured of these old machines (now that women and children are no longer at risk of losing fingers in them). And who wouldn’t love the world’s largest collection of bobbins? This made my photographer’s heart go pitter pat, and I truly mourned the temporarily comatose state of my SLR.

If I had to pick one amazing thing to highlight, it was these old punch cards that defined the patterns for weaving — and of course, served as the forerunners for computers.

But the rest, oh the rest was such a treat of extraordinary old iron, wheels and cogs, bobbins and threads. And the ghosts of workers, cut out and placed happily smiling at their visitors when actually this place must have been deafening with the noise, full of wisps of cloth and cotton dust and children running machinery…
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