Masson Mills

Built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1783 to utilise the water power of the River Derwent for the mass production of spun cotton, Masson Mills is the best-preserved example of an Arkwright mill and is part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site. A commercial cotton spinning mill until 1991 and now home to a working textile museum, visitor centre, offices and meeting and event spaces.

Bale To Bobbin

Discover the machinery that industrially revolutionised the processing of raw cotton in to spun yarn and woven fabric on our ‘Bale To Bobbin’ experience. Explore our extensive collection of textile machinery on a self-guided visit to the Weaving Shed, Doubling Room, Victorian Workshop & Bobbin Room all within Sir Richard Arkwright’s 1783 cotton spinning mill.

Appreciate the engineering of ‘The Devil’ Bale Breaker, Woollen Carding, Derby Doubler, Spinning Mule, Lancashire Looms, Yorkshire Looms, Jacquard Looms, Doubling Machines (Original to Masson Mills) plus much more textile machinery & artefacts.

Thursdays and Fridays 1pm-3pm until March 2024 (Christmas closedown 16^th Dec- 7^th Jan)

Visitor Centre

Our visitor centre is open Monday-Friday 11am-4pm and offers light refreshments, barista coffee, hot drinks and cakes. Our gift shop sells a woven fabric and string produced in our museum, textile products such as yarn, bobbins and pirns as well as items made by local artists.

Private Guided Tours

Private guided tours of over 10 people are available by pre-arrangement. Our guided tour includes everything in our ‘Bale to Bobbin’ experience plus the former water wheel and current hydro-electricity turbine, views of the weir, Boiler House and Engine House with a demonstration of our cross-compound steam engine.

Accessibility

Paid car parking is available on site, including accessible parking and a drop off zone. Our ‘Bale To Bobbin’ experience is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

We're less than one mile from both Cromford and Matlock Bath train stations on the Derwent Valley line and have a bus stop directly outside connecting us to Derby, Belper, Wirksworth, Bakewell, Buxton, Chesterfield and Sheffield.

Sustainability

The entire site is still powered by the River Derwent today producing renewable energy via hydroelectricity turbines.