"One machine [produced] in an hour what had previously taken hundreds of person-hours."
Robert Clark, University of East Anglia
Preston wigmaker Sir Richard Arkwright (1732-1792) patented a new cotton-spinning machine in 1769. Around that time people were racing to find a fast and inexpensive way to produce good-quality cotton for the textiles industry. James Hargreaves had created the "spinning jenny" between 1764 and 1767, but this simply mimicked the action of a hand-turned spinning wheel and could not produce high-quality cotton thread. Arkwright's "water frame" would become a major catalyst for the Industrial Revolution.
While working as a wigmaker, Arkwright became interested in the spinning of cotton. He enlisted the help of clockmaker John Kay, who had worked previously with Thomas Highs on another spinning machine that had been halted by a lack of funds. Together, Arkwright and Kay built a prototype horsepowered spinning frame, which they patented in 1769. The frame drastically sped up the process of spinning cotton, producing both weft (filling yarn) and high-quality waft suitable for hosiery.
Realizing the potential for large-scale production, Arkwright perfected a model powered by water wheel, one that became known as the "water frame." Although Arkwright is heralded as the inventor of the water frame, many believe that it was actually Highs who came up with the original design. It is thought that, while working with Kay, Arkwright obtained the secret to Highs's design and went on to use it for his water frame. This model could not be operated within workers' homes, so in 1771 Arkwright built the first textiles factory in Cromford, Derbyshire, marking the beginning of textile mass-production.
