Property: Derwent Valley Mills

Id. N°: 1030

State Party: United Kingdom

Criteria: C (ii) (iv)

The Committee inscribed the Derwent Valley Mills on the World Heritage List under criteria (ii) and (iv):

Criterion (ii): The Derwent Valley saw the birth of the factory system, when new types of building were erected to house the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright in the early 19th century.

Criterion (iv): In the Derwent Valley for the first time there was large-scale industrial production in a hitherto rural landscape. The need to provide housing and other facilities for workers and managers resulted in the creation of the first modern industrial towns.