| Entry Type | Family |
| Surname | Arkwright |
| Place | Cromford and Willersley Castle |
| Epithet | family |
| Biography | Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), the textile entrepreneur, established Cromford as the family home, first at Rock House and then at Willersley Castle, both in Cromford. His son, also Richard (1755-1843), developed the banking side of the family's business. Richard Arkwright junior's grandson, Augustus Peter Arkwright (1821-1887), joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12 years and served until the 1850s, travelling extensively. He wrote to his parents in Derbyshire from many ports including: Barcelona; Valencia; Malta; and Marseilles in the Mediterranean, Barbados and Jamaica in the West Indies, Rio de Janeiro in South America, Sierna Leone and Bathurst in The Gambia. In 1842 he was part of the British fleet pursuing slave ships off the west coast of Africa. Arkwright on his vessel 'The Prompt' did succeed in capturing a slave ship and received a commendation from the Admiralty for his 'zeal and courage'.
The Arkwright family was much involved in textiles manufacturing in the 18th-19th century. Rock House in Cromford was the family home of the Arkwright family until they acquired Willersley Castle in 1782 to use as their main residence. Richard Arkwright died at Rock House in 1792, not living along enough to see Willersley Castle's completed renovation. In 1796 his son, Richard Arkwright Junior, moved from Rock House into the completed Willersley Castle. His son Peter Arkwright continued to live at Rock House until he inherited Willersley Castle in 1843.
Richard Arkwright (1732-1792) was born in Preston, Lancashire to parents Thomas Arkwright and Ellen Hodgkinson, and was the youngest of 7 surviving children. In 1750 he moved to Bolton and worked as a barber. He married Patience Holt on 31 March 1755, and together had a son, Richard Arkwright born on 19 December 1755. Patience died on 6 October 1756, so Richard married for a second time to Margaret Biggens on 24 March 1761. Together they and had a daughter, Susanna Arkwright born on 21 December 1761. Two other daughters died in infancy. Once Richard was able to take on an assistant wig maker he could travel the country to buy women's hair for wigs. Richard took an interest in mechanics and knew about issues facing the textile industry, so by 1768 he had designed and built a spinning machine model. |
| Family Tree | 1. Sir Richard Arkwright (1732-1792)
2. Richard Arkwright Junior (1755-1843)
3. Richard (1781-1832)
3. Robert (1783-1859) - Arkwright family of Sutton Scarsdale
3. Peter (1784-1866) married Mary Ann Hurt (d. 1872)
4. Frederic (d. 1874)
5. Frederic Charles (d. 1923)
4. Augustus Peter (1821-1887), MP for North Derbyshire, 1868-1880
4. Mary Ann (d. 1890)
4. six further sons and daughters
3. three further sons and two daughters |
| Authorised Form of Name | Arkwright; family; Cromford and Willersley Castle |
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