What’s On At Cromford Mills SEPTEMBER 2017
Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd September
FAMILY FUN: GEORGIAN FESTIVAL
Location: Cromford Mills
FREE ENTRY (small charge for some activities)
Step back in time and experience life in Georgian times. Chat with the village folk and mingle with the gentry – and learn all about the traditions and customs of this period in time with three days of events for all ages. Why not come dressed in Georgian costume too!
Meet the Georgians – Come and meet the millworkers and other Georgian re-enactors who will be out and about in the mill yard. Find out first-hand what it was like to live and work in the 18th century.
Georgian Games – Join in with a selection of Georgian games suitable for all the family. Learn about the history of the games including skittles, quoits and chess.
Dress As a Georgian – Dress as a millworker and be part of a mill owner’s family portrait.
Georgian Inventions Trail - Follow the trail around Cromford Mills and discover a collection of Georgian inventions. Find them all and win a prize! (£1).
Silhouette Portraits – Create your own ‘profile’ portrait like those in Georgian times. A selection of Georgian accessories will be available to complement your period silhouette. Suitable for all ages. Drop in anytime. (£3 per person).
Bracelet and Bookmark Weaving – Learn how to use a pair of weaving sticks to make your own bracelet or bookmark to take away. Drop in anytime for family fun.
Owls – Find out about and meet the Barn Owls, the White Faced Scops Owl, the Great Grey Owl and all their fluffy friends (Sunday only).
Health and Hygiene in Georgian Times – Discover all about health and hygiene – or rather the lack of it! – with illustrated displays.
Hog Roast and Georgian Fare – Experience a selection of Georgian themed food in Arkwright’s Café
St Mary’s Church – Visit Arkwright’s church in Cromford, originally built as a chapel for the Arkwright family. (Friday 10am-4pm, Saturday 10am-2pm, Sunday 11am-4pm)
Face Painting (£3) – Guided Tours – Canal Boat Trips (departs 11am and 2pm – visit www.birdswood.org to book)…and more!
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Friday 1st September
1:30pm-3pm (talk 1:30pm-2:30pm, tea, coffee and cake from 2:30pm)
COALBROOKDALE, SHROPSHIRE: A VIRTUAL TOUR
Location: Gothic Warehouse (ground floor)
Cost: £7.50 – includes tea and cake (Limited places, advance booking recommended)
Coalbrookdale is one of the main sites in Ironbridge Gorge Museum and is where in 1709 Abraham Darby first smelted iron using coke instead of charcoal. Using photographs and site map, Fiona Kyle’s virtual tour covers the many layers of history in the Dale including the importance of the Severn, why Darby went there, the development of the Coalbrookdale Company, the Quaker influence, the significance of the Great Exhibition and the formation of a Museum in what was, eventually, one of the largest areas of industrial dereliction in Europe.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Friday 1st September
6pm-7:30pm
PRE-OPERA DINNER
Location: Cromford Mills
Cost: £25 (Limited places, advance booking essential)
Dine in style and enjoy a delicious three-course pre-opera dinner at Cromford Mills.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Friday 1st September
8pm
AN EVENING OF GEORGIAN OPERA
Location: St Mary’s Church, Cromford
Cost: £20 (includes glass of wine during the interval). Reserved seating for Arkwright Society Gold members. Advance booking recommended.
New Georgian Opera and Chelsea Concerts present an evening of music from the world of Georgian opera, the great classical composers and music theatre with soprano Alexandra Kennedy and countertenor Oliver Gerrish.
Described by The Daily Mail as ‘a stunning Soprano’ Alexandra has performed nationally and internationally including a recital for Prince Albert of Monaco. Oliver began his professional musical training at Lichfield Cathedral and went on to study at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has performed all over the world and is a regular soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Join us in the splendid setting of St Mary’s Church in Cromford for an evening to remember.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 2nd September
7pm for 7:30pm, Carriages at midnight
THE CROMFORD MILLS GEORGIAN BALL
Location: Cromford Mills
Cost: £60 per person (£400 per table of 8) – Limited places, advance booking essential
Dress code: Black Tie (Georgian costume optional)
Join us for a very special evening at Cromford Mills’ annual Georgian Ball. A celebratory and fundraising evening this is a not to be missed event in the Cromford Mills’ calendar. Enjoy a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival before dining in style with a delicious four-course dinner. Be entertained with period music and demonstrations of Georgian dancing – and for those who wish to dance the night away there will be the chance to learn the steps and have a go yourself! The evening will include a fundraising auction and other surprises.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 2nd September
11am-3pm
FENCING DEMONSTRATION
Location: Mill Yard
FREE ENTRY
In Georgian England learning to fence was an indispensable part of a gentleman’s education. Join 3 Blades Fencing Club and enjoy demonstrations of this competitive sport or why not come along and have a go yourself. Taster sessions will introduce you to some fencing basics and are suitable for adults and children from 8 years.
Saturday 2nd September
11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm
ONE HOUR FENCING TASTER SESSIONS
Location: Cromford mills
Cost: £5 per person (includes kit hire and equipment)
Limited places, advance booking recommended to avoid disappointment on 01629 823256. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 2nd September – Thursday 7th September
GALLERY EXHIBITION: CHAS WILBY
Location: The Gallery
FREE ENTRY
Exhibition featuring the art of accomplished landscape painter Chas Wilby.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Sunday 3rd September
6pm-10pm
RICHARD ARKWRIGHT’S CANDLELIGHTING FESTIVAL
Location: Meet outside the Greyhound, Cromford Market Place
FREE ENTRY (includes soup and punch)
Richard Arkwright’s original Candlelighting Festival was a day of celebration for his workers when they paraded around the village before returning to the mill for a feast of buns, ale, nuts and fruit followed by an evening of music and dancing. Join us over 200 years later as we recreate Arkwright’s Candlelighting in our festival finale. Meet outside the Greyhound in Cromford Market Place before joining the procession to Cromford Mills where there will be soup and punch to enjoy before music and dancing. Why not come dressed for the occasion in Georgian costume! There will also be a licensed bar and food available for purchase. Battery operated lanterns and candles only.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Thursday 7th – Sunday 10th September
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS
Heritage Open Days is England’s biggest heritage festival celebrating our fantastic history, architecture and culture. Step back in time with free guided tours, learn about heritage crafts, and discover more about Sir Richard Arkwright and his Cromford Mills.
9am-5pm
THE CROMFORD MILLS STORY
Discover the story of Cromford Mills with this exhibition including the opportunity to dress as a millworker or be part of a mill owners’ family portrait.
Thursday 7th – Sunday 10th September
1:30pm-3pm
A GUIDED TOUR OF CROMFORD VILLAGE
Location: Meet outside the Shop in the Yard
FREE but donations welcome (Limited places, advance booking recommended)
Follow in the footsteps of hundreds of mill workers with a walk into Cromford Village to see and hear more about daily life and Sir Richard Arkwright’s entrepreneurial ideas.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Thursday 7th and Friday 8th September, 10am-4pm
Saturday 9th September, 10am-12noon; Sunday 10th September, 11am-4pm
ST MARY’S CHURCH
Location: St Mary’s Church
FREE but donations welcome (Refreshments will be served throughout the day)
Visit St Mary’s – Arkwright’s Church in Cromford, originally built as a chapel for the Arkwright family. It was later Gothicised and contains murals by renowned Victorian artist Alfred Octavius Hemming.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 9th September
11:30am-12:45pm
RULE AND RIOT TOUR
Location: Meet outside the Shop in the Yard
FREE but donations welcome (Limited places, advance booking recommended)
What happened if you broke the law in the 18th century, or even broke one of the rules working at the mill? Did the punishment always fit the crime? Discover more about law, order and industrial espionage during Georgian times and how strict life working at the mills was as we explore the mill and village on this guided tour.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September
10am-4pm
INSPIRED LACEMAKERS
Location: Gothic Warehouse (ground floor)
FREE ENTRY
The Inspired Lacemakers will be demonstrating bobbin lace throughout the weekend. Come along and have a go making a piece of your own.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Wednesday 13th September
10am-12noon
KNIT AND NATTER
Location: Arkwright’s Café
FREE ENTRY
Join us for a morning of knitting and nattering. This drop in session is suitable for anyone who wants to knit, learn to knit or just fancies a chat!
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Thursday 14th September
7pm (includes cheese and wine 7pm-7:30pm)
ARKWRIGHT SOCIETY LECTURE SERIES: THE LESSER KNOWN HOUSES OF DERBYSHIRE – THE STRUTT FAMILY HOMES
Location: Gothic Warehouse (ground floor)
Cost: £7.50 (Limited places, advance booking recommended. Priority booking for members, public booking opens on 31st August)
The Strutt family were key players in the development of the factory system in the Derwent Valley. As the family grew, they created a number of grand houses close to Belper and Milford. Adrian Farmer and Mary Smedley take a look at some of these houses, and what has happened to them.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Sunday 17th September
11am-4pm
ARKWRIGHT SPINSTERS
Location: Gothic Warehouse
FREE ENTRY
The Arkwright Spinsters will be demonstrating spinning and fibre crafting and sharing their skills. Bring your own spinning wheel and learn to spin, or learn with group equipment by prior arrangement. Please contact arkwrightspinsters@yahoo.co.uk if you would like to arrange a lesson.
For further details please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 23rd September
11.30am-12.45pm
CROMFORD VILLAGE TOUR
Location: Cromford Mills
Cost £5 (Limited places, advance booking essential)
Follow in the footsteps of the hundreds of mill workers and explore 18th century village life as you are taken on a journey of discovery around Cromford Village. You’ll visit North Street and see the earliest industrial housing in Derbyshire as well as the state of the art water management system used to power the first cotton mill.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Sunday 24th September
2-4pm
A WALK DOWN THROUGH THE LUMSDALE VALLEY
Location: Meet at the layby opposite Highfields Upper School car park entrance, Upper Lumsdale, DE4 5NA. Please park in Upper Lumsdale and not at the bottom of the Valley.
Cost: £3 – Limited places, advance booking required on 01629 823256.
A leisurely guided one mile walk down through this wooded gorge of outstanding natural beauty, exploring the stone mill ruins, ponds and waterfalls that make up this unique historical site. Please note the route down the Valley involves some steep steps and uneven paths which can be muddy and slippery. Please wear suitable footwear with a good grip. Walking poles are also recommended.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Thursday 28th September
1:30pm-3pm
THE BELLFOUNDRY MUSEUM AND WORKS TOUR
Location: Meet at The Bellfoundry Museum, Loughborough, LE11 1AR
Cost: £15 (Limited places, advance booking essential).
The John Taylor Bellfoundry in Loughborough is now one of only two bell foundries still in production in the UK. Follow the development of the art of English bell founding, over at least 600 years, in the museum and enjoy a fascinating guided tour of the factory including the engineering works, the foundry, and the tuning shop.
For further details and ticket bookings please visit www.cromfordmills.org.uk or phone 01629 823256.
Saturday 30th September
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION CONFERENCE 2017
The Arkwright Society’s annual academic conference on the Industrial Revolution returns to Cromford Mills. Leading British experts on the Industrial Revolution will set out their views on the time when Britain changed in every way, led by a new spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. Tickets and further details will be available from the summer. To register your interest please phone 01629 823256 or email conference@arkwrightsociety.org.uk