Latest news with #BelperNorthMillTrust
BBC News
08-08-2025
- BBC News
Lion's head tap stolen from historic Belper mill
Historians have urged the person who stolen an "invaluable" feature from a historic mill in Derbyshire to bring it Hill, chair of Belper North Mill Trust, said a 19th Century lion's head tap was taken from the gangway bridge attached to the mill on is thought the tap was added to the bridge, which dates back to the 1790s, to provide drinking water for mill workers and those using the route to travel to Ashbourne."We'll be very, very happy to receive it back," said Mr Hill. "You'll be doing a good thing for Belper and for people who know and love the area." The tap was installed beneath the bridge on the A517 Ashbourne Road in 1858 and is an "important" piece of Belper North Mill, which forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills Unesco World Heritage Site."The bridge itself is the oldest part of the North Mill that's above ground, so that dates back to 1795 and the lion's head tap was added later," said Mr Hill."It is invaluable. To whoever has taken it, please return it, because its actual value to anyone else is little or nothing."Everybody is really, really upset about it and we hope our appeal will lead to some common sense and the return of the lion's head tap."Mr Hill has asked for the lion's head to be returned to the North Mill Trust Office at Archway House in Belper.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Historic knitting machine back on display
The machine behind the man credited with helping start the Industrial Revolution returns to a Derbyshire town. The Framework Knitting Machine, invented in 1589, made socks and stockings but they had to be tied up with a garter to stop them falling down. Almost 200 years later, Jedediah Strutt, the founding father of the Belper Mills, developed an attachment to the machine to solve the problem and produce ribbed socks and stockings. The machine, which was once on display at North Mill Museum before it closed in 2022, is now on show at Belper Library. Derbyshire-born Strutt later helped to create the world's first factories - cotton mills - at Cromford with Richard Arkwright in 1771 and then in Belper along the River Derwent in 1776. In 2014, a blue plaque commemorating Strutt was unveiled at Friar Gate House, his final home. Ian Hill, chair of Belper North Mill Trust, said the machine, which had been in storage since the museum closed, was "unique". He said the trust and the Volunteers Association were "delighted to be able to bring home this important piece of Belper's history". "Without this invention, who knows how Belper would have developed," he added. Mr Hill thanked the Belper Library Team, Belper Historical Society, Belper Town Council and Derbyshire County Council for their support. Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Plan in works to save globally important mills Fears plan for crumbling mills will be 'unviable' North Mill Belper
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Belper's historic knitting machine back on display
The machine behind the man credited with helping start the Industrial Revolution returns to a Derbyshire Framework Knitting Machine, invented in 1589, made socks and stockings but they had to be tied up with a garter to stop them falling 200 years later, Jedediah Strutt, the founding father of the Belper Mills, developed an attachment to the machine to solve the problem and produce ribbed socks and stockings. The machine, which was once on display at North Mill Museum before it closed in 2022, is now on show at Belper Library. Derbyshire-born Strutt later helped to create the world's first factories - cotton mills - at Cromford with Richard Arkwright in 1771 and then in Belper along the River Derwent in 2014, a blue plaque commemorating Strutt was unveiled at Friar Gate House, his final Hill, chair of Belper North Mill Trust, said the machine, which had been in storage since the museum closed, was "unique".He said the trust and the Volunteers Association were "delighted to be able to bring home this important piece of Belper's history". "Without this invention, who knows how Belper would have developed," he Hill thanked the Belper Library Team, Belper Historical Society, Belper Town Council and Derbyshire County Council for their support.
