Derby Silk Mill

The Derby Silk Mill, now reborn as the Museum of Making, stands on an island in the River Derwent on a site that has held a mill since at least 1702. The original Lombe's Silk Mill of 1721 was one of the first factories in the world — a purpose-built, water-powered, mechanised production facility employing hundreds of workers. That building burned down in 1910, but the gatehouse tower and mill leat survive, and the current structure follows the original footprint.

The museum reopened in 2021 after a major refurbishment, with the manufacturing heritage of Derby at its centre. Rolls-Royce aero engines sit alongside Jacobean lace frames and hand tools from Victorian foundries. The presentation is honest about the conditions workers endured — child labour was common in the early silk mill — and the exhibits trace the full arc from water-powered textiles to jet propulsion. It is the best starting point for understanding why Derby matters.

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A story
When John and Thomas Lombe built the Silk Mill in 1721, they used industrial espionage to do it. Thomas Lombe had spent years in Italy working undercover in Piedmontese silk mills, memorising the machinery and sketching components in secret. He was reportedly poisoned on his return to England, dying at 33 — but not before the mill was built and the technology transplanted to the Derwent.

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